


Caught

by GintaxAlvissforever



Category: Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Self-cest, Threesome - F/M/M, Twincest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-16 18:03:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2279448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GintaxAlvissforever/pseuds/GintaxAlvissforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of events that will make Emil question his relationship with Marta. Who will Emil end up choosing?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the good ending in which Emil and Ratatosk become their own person. Not really a good thing for Ratatosk when he feels like the third wheel and walks in on something he probably shouldn't have had seen.

The world has been saved again thanks to Lloyd's group. Thanks to Emil and Ratatosk though, the world was saved from demons entering their world. They were to guard the gate until the end of time, or so they thought.

Ratatosk made a deal with Richter and the Centurions that Emil and him could live in the human world as long as Ratatosk came back to the gate every now and then. Both agreed to this and they were sent back.

Emil reunited with his mate Marta. Ratatosk didn't expect to come out looking like Emil's twin and the only way to tell the difference was by their eye color and personality. He tried to stay away from the two but Marta spotted him and hugged him hard as well. He was not use to it like Emil was, so he was speechless. The calmer of the two could only laugh at his other self.

Marta wouldn't let their official appearance be unnoticed though. She had a way of contacting her friends by using the network (Sheena). Sheena easily gave the information to everyone. It was hard to get this information to Lloyd and Zelos though because they started the journey for Exspheres again. It was mere coincidence that Sheena found them both in Meltokio.

Once got the information though, he planned to celebrate with everyone by asking the royal family if he could throw a party at the royal palace. The king had no way to refuse though and it was settled.

Lloyd did protest about the party interfering with their search but Zelos ensured him that they weren't wasting any time.

Thanks to the Rheairds (that they still kept) the group managed to fly toward Meltokio before it got dark.

Of course, it was a party for the rich so everyone (meaning the original group) was already dressed in their best clothes.

"There's no need to worry about what you're going to wear Marta dear," Zelos told her as he showed her a rather skimpy outfit, "just wear this and you'll be fine."

That earned him a punch in the back of the head from Sheena.

"You perverted Ex-Chosen!"

"Oww! Sheena is so rough!"

"Since we can't rely on Zelos, you're going to have to find another suit." Lloyd told the trio.

"Who said I was going?" Ratatosk asked as he cocked an eyebrow.

Marta ignored him and asked Regal if he knew any shops that sold fancy dresses.

"You could always borrow one of Seles' dresses." Zelos stated as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah. That's a great idea Zelos!"

"Of course it's a great idea."

Sheena sighed, "Now that's getting his ego going."

"So what am I going to wear to the party?" Emil questioned as he turned to Lloyd.

"The last time I went to a party like this, Zelos lent me one of his tuxedos," Lloyd explained, "I'm sure you'll find something in that wardrobe."

Zelos was about to protest but Marta interrupted him.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Do I have any saying in this?" Ratatosk asked. He was ignored by the group's cheer.

* * *

The celebration started when the moon was up in the night sky. The main gang wore what they wore to the last party. Marta wore a red dress with flowers decorating it. In order to tell Emil and Ratatosk apart, they wore the same but different color shirt. Emil wore a tight dark blue suit while Ratatosk wore a rather loose black suit.

"You look handsome Emil!" Marta commented as she winked at him.

"You too..." Emil mumbled. He quickly caught what he said though and changed 'handsome' to 'beautiful'.

"And you look smashing too Ratatosk."

"Hmph."

The trio were left alone when the party began. Genis was trying to get Presea but it was an impossible task because he ended up stuttering every time he tried to start a conversation and Presea would keep translating his stutters. Regal couldn't enjoy himself because the party ended up being a business trip for him as the aristocrats ended up meeting with him and starting a conversation. Colette and Sheena seem to go somewhere private. Lloyd and Zelos went somewhere as well (after Lloyd dragged Zelos away from the main room looking rather irritated). Raine was the only one who stayed close to the trio.

"Emil, what's wrong?" Marta asked her date.

"It's nothing. It's just that the people here seem to be dressed at their finest and..."

"You're fine Emil. In fact, I think you're the most handsome guy here."

Emil blushed, "M-Marta!"

"I'm out of here..." Ratatosk mumbled as he left the lovey-dovey couple alone. However he was stopped by Raine. He glared at her as a response.

"I need to speak to Lloyd about something," Raine said in a serious tone, "Do you think you can get him for me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

He didn't. Raine seem dead serious. It made Ratatosk wonder what the hell Lloyd did to make her look that...anxious.

Ratatosk hated being the lap dog for Raine or anybody. He had no idea where Lloyd or Zelos might be, so he ended up wandering around the castle. Avoiding the rich was hard especially when some were drunk. One of the rich guys was foolish enough to try and hit on him thinking he was a girl. Ratatosk showed him that he was no girl but a very dangerous guy that shouldn't be messed with. If anyone hit on him again, they wouldn't just get a serious beat down…

"Dammit! Where are those idiots?!" he questioned as he ended up near the guest room. He was thinking of heading back and just take the lecture from the professor but he heard a familiar voice. He smirked.

"Lloyd, it's not my fault, I swear!"

"I thought you changed your ways when I went away but apparently, you haven't."

"You think it was my fault that that guy was hitting on me? Please! Who doesn't want to hit on the Great Zelos Wilder?"

Despite the fact that Zelos was trying to lighten the mood, it was obvious that they were in an argument. It explained why Lloyd dragged the redhead off.

Ratatosk could hear Lloyd sigh.

"Sometimes, I wonder if our temporary journey meant anything to you…"

"Bud, what are you talking about? Of course it meant something to me! Heck, if you didn't ask me to go with you…"

"I asked you because you're the one I trust with all my heart."

"Um…that's going a little too far…"

Ratatosk had no idea what they were talking about. His plan was just to barge in, tell Lloyd that the professor wanted him and then leave. Simple plans don't go as well though. The instant he grabbed the knob on the door, he froze.

"B-Bud, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Becoming a rapist."

"Screw that. You know how long it's been since we had sex? I had to restrain myself from not jumping you whenever I saw you again."

Zelos chuckled nervously, "It seems that someone's gotten horny over that period of time."

"And someone needs to be tamed again."

At this point, Ratatosk would have asked his Centurion Tenebrae on what the hell they were talking about. Of course, he's guarding the gate along with the other Centurions and Richter so he had to figure it out himself.

Barging in didn't seem to be a smart idea anymore. Instead, he opened the door slowly just to sneak a peak. If he saw something that he shouldn't have witnessed, he would leave and pretend that he didn't see anything. (He wouldn't know what he should and shouldn't have seen though.)

Ratatosk should have just left. He only took a small peak and saw something that 'kids' shouldn't see.

First of all, he saw Lloyd and Zelos on the bed. Lloyd on the top of Zelos pinning him down on his back and kissing him roughly. The other being surprisingly submissive only moaned in response. The dominant one then slowly removed the garments off the other like they were a sin on earth preventing him from seeing something beautiful.

"L-Lloyd…not here…if you want to do this…let's just go back to…my place…"

"No one is watching us." He heard Lloyd mumble in a seductive tone. "No one knows that we're gone and I'm sure if they did notice, they wouldn't disturb us, now would they?"

Ratatosk needed to close the door behind him and leave before he got caught, but something inside him wanted him to watch the whole thing.

"No more excuses Zelos."

With the Ex-Chosen's shirt off, Lloyd began licking and kissing the others chest. Zelos tried to hold his moans in but it was failing.

Ratatosk could feel his cheeks lighting up, but from what? Not only did he feel his entire body burning up, but his heart was racing like crazy and he felt this pain where his groin was.

Lloyd was very quick with undressing his lover's (as well as his own) clothes. Once they were out of the way, Zelos' whole body was exposed. (Ratatosk had to admit that there wasn't that much muscle as he expected there would be.) He leaned back to look at the body that he was ready to ravish, very amused at the shades of red Zelos was turning that competed with his already scarlet hair. He allowed his hands to glide and map out Zelos's skin, letting his fingertips be his eyes. He would pause every now and then when the red head would release a little moan or whimper of pleasure. Soon his hands rested on either side of where Zelos wanted him, gazing momentarily at the red head's pleasured face before he sank down the bed so he was eye level to Zelos's length. Lloyd smirked as he seized Zelos' cock and placed it in his mouth. Blue eyes widened as Zelos arched his body up to Lloyd's mouth, but the brunette easily pinned the former Chosen's hips down on the mattress as his tongue swirled and lapped around the length. Soon Lloyd became bold with his actions and started to bob his head up and down the length, pumping what he couldn't fit in his mouth. Zelos was in cloud nine. It became harder to hold his moans in as Lloyd sucked on his cock. He would have to cum soon because Lloyd was sucking hard.

"L-Lloyd…" Zelos moaned.

Lloyd said nothing as the Ex-Chosen couldn't hold it in anymore and cummed. Lloyd quickly swallowed the substance before releasing his grip.

 _When did Bud get so good?_ Zelos asked himself as he waited to see what his lover would do next.

Lloyd surprised him by going for his thigh and licking it mercilessly. He smirked before letting his teeth sink into the skin before his mouth, making a dark hickey there. It was enough for Zelos to moan in pleasure even more. He felt his entire body on fire. The Ex-Chosen missed this feeling and he was glad to have this feeling again.

"Zelos," Lloyd began in a low tone, "you have no idea how I missed you...all of you..."

"I feel the same way, Bud..." Zelos replied weakly.

"That's why, I want to take it all the way tonight."

Zelos felt the same way. Lloyd stopped what he was doing in order to cover the tip of his cock with his own saliva.

"Are you ready Zelos?" Lloyd questioned his lover after he was finished.

Zelos nodded his head slowly in response. The younger of the two smiled.

The Ex-Chosen thought that his body couldn't get any hotter. He was dead wrong when he felt his other coming in.

"Ah...Lloyd..."

Both could feel the pressure of being together. Zelos wasn't the only one who missed this feeling. In fact, Lloyd wanted this more than food tonight.

"God Zelos, you're so tight..." Lloyd mumbled.

The angel could only moan in response. He raised his hips up to mare sure Lloyd could completely come into him.

"I'm almost there Zelos," Lloyd told his lover in a soft tone.

The older of the two tried his best not to scream. He was almost at his limit.

Once Lloyd reached his destination, he thrusted. The pain and pleasure from that one thrust was enough to get Zelos screaming in delight. Satisfied that his lover was enjoying this, he decided to give the older of the two what he wanted. He thrusted again and again with each thrust stronger and more pleasurable than the last. They both felt like they were in heaven.

"I love you Zelos..." Lloyd whispered in his lover's ear.

"I...love...you...too..." Zelos said. He said it weakly because he felt like he could faint at any moment.

Thinking that Zelos had enough, he pulled his cock out of Zelos slowly only to see that it bulged.

 _Damn._ He thought to himself as his cock released al the um that it was holding in onto his lover. Any of the sticky substance that got on the angel's mouth, he licked it away.

Zelos felt completely drained when he felt Lloyd lie down next to him. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Lloyd on the other hand couldn't sleep. This whole time, he felt like someone was spying on them and enjoying every minute of it. Being an angel had its advantages after all.

* * *

Ratatosk was long gone when Lloyd and Zelos were at their climax. He had never seen someone have sex before despite being 10,000 years old. (His excuse being that he guarded the Great Tree until it was destroyed.) Moreover, he didn't expect his first time witnessing it being to guys that were his friends. That whole time, he felt his entire body heating up and his heart being faster by the minute. He considered the explicit scene...hot.

 _Don't think that!_ Ratatosk told himself. _Just focus on getting back to Emil...I mean Marta...I mean...GOD DAMMIT!_

The poor Summon Spirit got lost in the palace again and another drunk aristocrat tried to hit on him.

"How about we go to the guest room and have some fun! -hic-" The guy said in a slurred voice as he seized the blonde's arm.

Bad move. Very bad move on so many levels. Ratatosk responded by taking his sword out and shoving it to the guy's throat.

"Say that again and I'll kill you," Ratatosk threatened.

The man screamed and released his grip on the Summon Spirit. He fled shouting, "Monster!" Ratatosk could only laugh as the guy tripped multiple times. The laughter died down though when what the man said rang through his head. He remembered the sex scene again.

_I am not crazy..._

* * *

Ratatosk made it to the ballroom where Raine was waiting for him.

"Did you give Lloyd my message?" Was the first thing she asked.

"If you want to confess to him so badly, you can tell him yourself..." Ratatosk mumbled. He intended to shout at her but she gave him the teacher eye that Emil was scared of.

Raine grinned evilly as she got out a notepad that she carried around (along with a book) and wrote something down.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked not looking up from her notes.

Ratatosk felt his body getting hot again, "N-No I didn't. Wait, you knew all along didn't you?"

"I'm Lloyd's teacher." The half-elf replied with a small smile. "Now I must ask you to check up on Colette-"

"NO!" Ratatosk yelled, "I'm not your guinea pig! If you think I enjoyed that, then you're wrong."

"That doesn't explain why you're blushing."

"I'm not!"

"Are you attractive to-"

"Damn you half-elf! Why can't you go confess to Regal already?"

Ratatosk thought he struck a nerve but the teacher had a comeback.

"But you said to confess to Lloyd and if he's with Zelos, how can I?"

A normal person would say, "Confess anyway!" but Ratatosk wasn't a normal person, so he said nothing. Annoyed, he stormed off back toward the happy couple that had a failure of a boyfriend. Raine could only smile as her hypothesis was correct.

* * *

The next day, Ratatosk tried to avoid everyone but mainly Lloyd, Zelos, Raine...and Emil? He didn't want Lloyd or Zelos to know that he was tricked by Raine to spy on them and he surely didn't want that half-elf asking more questions to reveal everything. The Summon Spirit couldn't figure out why he was avoiding his other self though.

 _I probably don't want to ruin their reunion._ Ratatosk concluded. _Maybe that's why I don't want to see them together._

Avoiding everyone was indeed a difficult task because no one would leave him alone.

Eventually though, he was alone with Emil because everyone else failed to talk to him.

"Ratatosk, what's been bothering you?" Emil asked bluntly.

"Hmm?"

"You've been acting weird after the party. Did you eat something bad or something?"

"No...I'm just annoyed at Professor Sage."

Emil was confused, "Really? What did she do?"

"She-"

Ratatosk stopped speaking as he felt Raine was spying on them behind a bush waiting for him to screw up.

"...I don't want to talk here..." Ratatosk mumbled.

"Why?" Emil asked.

Ratatosk looked toward the bush and Emil easily caught on.

"R-Right. Let's talk somewhere else..."

* * *

Emil ended up leading them to the front gates of Meltokio. The guards weren't doing their job, so they had enough time to talk privately before they came back.

"Is there a reason why Raine is giving you the creepy look?" Emil asked his other self.

Ratatosk stayed quiet trying to determine whether or not he should tell Emil about what happened last night.

 _He talks to Richter so much. He'll probably know what I'm talking about._ Ratatosk thought to himself. "Last night...she told me to give Lloyd a message."

Emil was all ears waiting for Ratatosk to finish.

"I went to go look for him and..."

Ratatosk decided to end the conversation there. He wouldn't hear the end of it from Emil if he found out that he had no idea what was going on between Lloyd and Zelos.

"And?"

"I'm ending it here."

"What?"

"You should go back. Marta is waiting."

"Hey! You looked so eager to tell me and now you're brushing me off?!"

Ratatosk was taken back at this but Emil has changed since the time he created him.

"..."

"Come on Ratatosk..."

The red eyed Summon Spirit turned toward the green eyed Summon Spirt and sighed. He couldn't say no to all that begging.

"It's-"

"Emil!"

Ratatosk froze when he heard Lloyd's voice. The spiky haired brunette toward them.

"Emil, Marta was looking for you." He said simply.

"What? I was only gone for a few minutes! She can't be missing me already."

"She is Emil. I think it's best to go see her."

Lloyd turned his attention to Ratatosk who responded by trying to glare at him but failing.

"Ratatosk, if you tell anyone, you'll regret it." Lloyd said in a monotone voice before he left.

Now Emil was confused as ever.

"What happened with you, Lloyd and Raine?" Emil asked.

"Just dropped the subject..." Ratatosk mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 4010. Originally just a one-shot but then branched out into a multi-chapter story.


	2. Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the party, the group head their separate ways. Raine who is still persistent to get Ratatosk's secret out, asks him along with Emil and Marta to accompany her to Sybak. There, Ratatosk is humiliated even more.

Ratatosk glared at Raine the whole time the party was in Meltokio. The she devil was still planning to torture him. The least he could do was give her a look that could kill and hopefully she would leave him alone.

It wouldn't last long though. The party was planning to disband to do their own thing. Lloyd and Zelos were going to continue their journey on finding the remaining Ex-Spheres in the world. Colette was planning to return to Iselia before she out to help the Sylvaranti in any way she can. Genis decided that he would continue the journey that he and Raine started which was get people to accept half-elves. Sheena was to go back and help move her village to a different location. Presea would go back and help rebuild Ozette along with Regal who was also going to try to bring Sylvarant and Tethe'alla together with the help of the Lezerano Company.

"We'll see each other again, right?" Marta questioned in worry.

"Of course," Lloyd answered, "we may be going our separate ways but we have ways of running into each other again."

"Besides," Sheena continued, "you'll know where to find us if you need anything."

"Hey Emil," Zelos began, "make sure you go easy on Marta."

Emil couldn't help but blush, but that comment earned a smack in the head from the Chief of Mizuho.

"You perverted Ex-Chosen!"

"Oww! Come on Sheena! When are you going to stop abusing me?"

"When you stop making stupid statements!"

Just when Sheena was going to smack Zelos again, he ran to Lloyd for protection.

"Bud save me!"

"D-Don't get me involved in your affairs!"

The group couldn't help but laugh as Sheen decided to give up giving the pounding on Zelos for Lloyd's sake. The laughter died down as they looked at each other before saying their farewells.

Colette spread her wings and flew off while everyone else hopped on their Rheairds soaring in different locations. Emil, Marta and Ratatosk were left or so the red eyed Summon Spirit thought.

"Why are you still here?" Ratatosk questioned Raine rudely.

Raine was quiet moment before speaking, "I thought I would pick up some research papers in Sybak. I was wondering if you three would join me. That is, if you don't have anything important to do."

Ratatosk was about to decline the offer but Marta spoke first.

"Of course we'll join you," Marta said sounding very excited.

"Sure," Emil agreed, "we have noting better to do."

"Hey! What about my opinion?"

Ignoring Ratatosk, Raine smiled in response, "Well then, shall we be going?"

Ratatosk grunted as the trio started walking to the entrance. He would only have to tolerate the half elf for a few more hours and then he wouldn't be seeing her for a while. That was something to look forward to.

* * *

The flight to Sybak only took five minutes thanks to the Rheairds. Marta still got airsick after the flight though, so they couldn't enter the city until she felt better.

"I'm sorry. I just can't get use to the feeling of being on those Rheairds..." Marta apologized.

"It's okay Marta," Emil counseled, "you can't help situations like these."

"Emil..."

Ratatosk grumbled as he walked past them. "Hurry up! Raine's leaving us behind!"

The two teens blushed as they both hurried to catch up with Ratatosk and the professor.

Once they arrived in Sybak, it was a trip to the Research Academy. On the way there, Emil noted that some of the researchers were looking up from their books or talking to other researchers to glance at them.

"Hey Emil, is it just me or is everyone staring at us?" Marta asked. There was a hint of fear in her tone.

"They're stating at both of you." Raine stated as she stopped to point at Emil and Ratatosk.

"Huh?"

"From the times you've been here, they only seen you or Ratatosk. Now that both of you have your own body and look like Aster, they can't help but take a glimpse at you."

"Hmph. Who cares?" Ratatosk asked.

Emil just sighed with worry. Ratatosk had no idea what problems would come up with two people walking around who look identical to their friend. He would be okay because people knew Emil as the kind hearted soul but Ratatosk was something else.

"Hey aren't you Aster?" a researcher decided to ask as he walked toward them.

 _Not this again._ Emil thought to himself.

The male researcher looked at Emil, then at Ratatosk and then back at Emil with a puzzled countenance.

"That's funny. I remember seeing you before," the male researcher said toward Emil, "but I don't remember seeing him before..."

Emil sweatdropped. The easiest way out would be to just tell him that this was the Summon Spirit Ratatosk and have no one believe him. Or he could make something up and suffer the consequences later. The blonde glanced at Raine hoping the half-elf had a good excuse for this man.

"Umm...this is..."

"This is Emil's twin brother Ratatosk." Raine finished.

The trio glanced at Raine with a inconceivable expression. Emil quickly recovered realizing that this was the part where he had to continue the spurious story.

"Yeah. He's my younger twin brother. When I was here before, not only were we searching for a certain artifact, but we were searching for him as well." Emil explained.

Emil was waiting for Ratatosk to instigate against him but nothing came from the red eyed Summon Spirt because he was still trying to absorb what Raine said. Marta liked the idea though and picked up the story from there.

"Isn't he cute?" Marta questioned using her best fake smile she could muster.

The researcher scratched his head wondering if he should believe these strangers. It wasn't his place to intrude so he said, "I see. Ratatosk is sure a weird name..."

The researcher said no more and walked off to join his colleges. Once he was out of hearing range, Emil sighed with relief.

"Phew. That was close."

Marta giggled. "That was a nice one Emil!"

Raine nodded her head in agreement, "You really know how to change the situation."

Emil chuckled nervously as he glanced at Ratatosk to see his reaction. He started to shiver seeing a dangerous aura coming out of him.

"Umm...Ratatosk?"

"I won't accept this!"

"Yikes!"

"I will not be the younger brother!"

The fear that Emil had went away slightly, "W-What?"

"You're the one who relies on me too much, so-"

Marta fumed. "That was then but the Emil now is more dependable than you!"

 _Ouch._ Emil thought to himself as he backed up.

Ratatosk felt something hurt in his chest. Back then, Marta relied on both of them but ever since he was sealed away by Verius, he couldn't see the process that Emil made from the point he was sealed to the point where the group defeated Richter. During that short time, Emil must have done something courageous to have Marta say something like that...but she always stood up for Emil no matter what.

"If you guys are done then I think we should get those research notes now." Raine said coldly.

Marta and Ratatosk glared at each other and turned away disgusted before continuing. Emil could only sough. Ratatosk had a point about the green eyed Summon Spirit relying on him, but in the sense of maturity, Ratatosk did not have the aura of the older brother. Period.

* * *

The group made it to the academy where Raine wasted no time to visit Director Schneider. Apparently, he had research notes on unexplored ruins. The trio were lucky that Raine didn't go into Ruin Mode the instant she received this information.

"If you're going to go to these ruin sites, I suggest you be careful." The director warned. "I heard there are powerful monsters residing in these areas."

"Nothing will stop me from entering these ruins..." Rained murmured not listening to the advice the director gave her.

The trio sweatdropped.

 _She is in Ruin Mode._ They all thought to themselves.

* * *

As the group left the research academy, another male researcher approached them. He didn't seem as friendly as the other one that walked up to them. In fact, he had a disgruntled look on his face and he looked ready to direct that dissatisfaction to someone.

"You!" he addressed in a harsh tone as he pointed at Raine, "You're a half-elf are you?"

The trio glanced at the professor to see what her reaction would be. She kept her composure and nodded her head. That response only deepened the anger in the man's eyes.

"You monster! Did that half-elf order you to come back just to make my life miserable?!"

Raine was taken back by those baneful words but she kept her equanimity. Angered, Emil and Marta decided to come to her aid.

"Hey! Who are you coming here and calling Raine a monster?" Marta questioned ready to explode.

"Shut up little girl!" the researcher barked, "Half-elves are the worse! They killed one of my important friends!"

"Who was the half-elf?" Emil wondered.

"How the hell should I know?! It doesn't matter because all half-elves are savages!" the researcher declared.

"Take back what you said!" Marta threatened.

Ratatosk looked to see if Raine would lose it or at least say something back but she looked like she wouldn't budge. He was beginning to lose his temper as well.

"Silence! All half-elves must die!"

Ratatosk got his sword out and pointed it at the researcher, "Shut up. You're annoying."

"Y-You!"

"Ratatosk, put your sword away!" Raine finally ordered.

The trio glanced at the professor shocked.

"Why should I?" Ratatosk questioned. "He's the one ranting on about how half-elves should drop off at the edge of this world!"

"Violence won't stop discrimination Ratatosk," Raine explained, "and by attacking this man, you are letting your anger get the best of you."

Ratatosk didn't feel like listening to the professor but Emil's words got him to stop.

"Please put your sword away Ratatosk. Raine is right."

The red eyed Summon Spirit groaned as he put his sword away back into his sheath and stepped back.

"I'm sorry that my friend attacked you," Raine apologized, "and I'm sorry you feel that way toward half-elves. But I'll tell you this. Half-elves aren't going to disappear for a long time."

The man growled, "Say what you want but one day, half-elves will all be slaughtered! Just you wait and see!"

With that said, the researcher ran off.

Marta stomped her foot and turned to the half elf, "What a jerk! I can't believe he said those things to you!"

"If you would have let me kill him, then I would have silenced those words." Ratatosk added.

"I know both of you are angry," Raine began, "But these are the things half-elves like me have to deal with...and I'm used to it now."

"But Raine-"

"Emil, you should know what it feels to be discriminated against."

Emil nodded his head slowly remembering the bad times in Luin.

"And Marta, you'll have to deal with discrimination against the Vanguard eventually."

"I know but..."

"This is the only way for humans and half-elves alike to move on in life. If we can't get over what people say, we might turn out for the worse..."

"Like Alice..."

The group continued walking to the entrance of the city as Raine continued talking. Eventually they made it out of Sybak and into the open field.

"Two years ago, Genis and I made a vow. A vow where we would get people to not hate us half-elves."

"Sound abject if you ask me." Ratatosk told her bluntly.

"It does, but we believe...that humans, elves, half-elves and Summon Spirits alike would be able to live together in harmony. Besides, us half-elves live longer than humans and elves combined so we might be able to change how people see us..."

There was a hint of sorrow in her tone of voice. Emil and Ratatosk understood why she would be distraught over living longer but...

"Is there anything you guys needed to do?" she asked suddenly perking up.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Marta asked. She didn't realize that Raine quickly changed the subject.

"Well, I'm going to head back to Iselia to pack my things before I head over to these ruins. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll have Regal accompany me."

"Knew it..." Ratatosk mumbled earning a wicked stare from the professor.

"We haven't decided yet," Emil said the obvious, "but we'll think of something surely."

Raine got out her Rheaird out and hopped on it, "If you decide that you want to head to the ruins with me, head to Iselia. I'll be there for a few days before I leave."

"Be careful Raine!" Emil told her.

Raine nodded her head, "You three be careful too. Don't let the melancholy inside of you take over."

The three had no idea what she was talking about but she already took off. Emil and Marta waved to her until her Rheaird turned into a star.

"I hope she'll be okay..." Marta mumbled.

"Don't worry, she's strong. Just like everyone else." Emil assured his girlfriend.

"I guess you're right."

"I hate to break it to you, but do you two have any idea on what we're going to do now?"

"Uh..."

"Actually, I wanted to see my father..." Marta declared.

"In Meltokio Prison, right?" Emil questioned.

"Yes, I told him that I would see him after we finished our journey. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Um...yeah...so...are we going to use the Rheairds?"

"No way. We could probably make it to Meltokio on foot before it gets dark."

"But it would only take-"

Marta walked closer to Emil. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Besides, I want to take this journey of love together."

Emil felt his cheeks turning pink again.

"C-Cut it out Marta."

"Aw, but you know you would rather walk."

Ratatosk frowned as he watched the scene in front of him. Again, he should be happy to see the two together. They are perfect partners, so they couldn't be separated even if anyone wanted to.

 _Yet, my chest really hurts..._ Ratatosk told himself as he unconsciously placed his hand on his chest. _Maybe I should really go back to the Ginnungagap. No one really wants me here..._

But he couldn't help but think about how many times Marta always tried to convince him that he was always going to be a part of the group, regardless of anything else. It seemed like the only tiny bit of hope that made him stick around….but the more he thought of it, the more he thought of being more than just a battle partner, more than just a friend….something more…he couldn't put his finger on what that would be…

He closed his eyes for a moment, imaging Marta smiling at him like she smiled at Emil. Imagining her hugging and holding his hand. Sure…it sounded corny in his head…but inwardly…it didn't seem all that bad…

His mind then clearly reminded him of images of Lloyd and Zelos. He shook his head wildly to drown those images from his brain, but they still remained. _I'm not like that! I couldn't possibly like men like that!_

The images still ran through his head like a broken record, his mind started leading from one thought to another. The faces of Lloyd and Zelos at first changed to Ratatosk and Marta which made his face heat up a little…he then shook his head, seeing as the continuity of that didn't quite make sense there….then his brain replaced Marta's face with Emil's-

Ratatosk's brain did a total freeze, almost having a train wreck in there to stop all functioning brain noodles. He instantly yelled in his head, but his face was as red as his eyes. _STOP THINKING SUCH NONSENSE LIKE THAT!_

"Ratatosk!"

Emil's voice snapped the red eyed Summon Spirit out of his thoughts.

"Don't zone out on us like that. I know we talk about us...together...but don't keep staring at us like you want to kill us...heh..."

Ratatosk wasn't listening to Emil's words. He was paying attention to the closeness and the kinder of the two was too close for comfort.

"If you don't want to me to kill you guys then say something more interesting!" Ratatosk shouted as he jumped back away from Emil confusing the blonde.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize."

Emil was going to apologize again but Marta yelled at the two blondes to hurry up.

"Let's go. We don't want to keep her waiting," Emil said with an exasperated sigh as he dragged his body over to his girlfriend who was already running farther away from him.

Ratatosk followed the two but kept looking behind them. He couldn't help but have this strange feeling that something was following them and it certainly wasn't a monster...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 3525 words. The whole random guy yelling at Raine because she's a half elf...if some random guy can walk up to Lloyd and Falcon Punch him, then it's possible for this to happen.


	3. Disappearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annoyed of Emil and Marta's public display of affection, Ratatosk decides to leave the two alone for the night in Meltokio only to let his guard down and get captured by a mysterious figure. Back in Meltokio, Emil and Marta go to Meltokio Prison to visit Marta's father and later on Emil starts getting worried about Ratatosk being gone for so long.

Heading back to Meltokio wasn't difficult. The monsters were seriously under level and the monster that Ratatosk kept out Orion (nicknamed Onion) was enough to kill a monster in one hit. Other weak monsters decided to stay far away from them because of the high level beast. Emil and Marta didn't appreciate a monster that was stronger than all three of them combined because it could turn on them at anytime.

There was one monster however that seem stronger than the rest and it didn't die in one hit from Onion. It seem to take multiple hits to stun it before Emil could finish it off.

"Did you see that move?"

"Yes! I watched all of it!"

"...What do you mean _all_?"

Ratatosk sighed loudly, "If you guys are going to say the same thing every time Emil defeats a monster, then I'm leaving..."

Emil sweatdropped. He couldn't help but ask that question to Marta. He felt like he had to say it or something bad might happen.

"Look out Ratatosk!" Marta warned.

Ratatosk looked up and jumped out of the way. He almost got hit by a bird monster flying toward them.

"Divine Saber!" Marta quickly chanted as purple lightning bolts struck the bird and made the monster crash. The red eyed Summon Spirit slew the monster before it had a chance to recover.

"Ratatosk, are you okay?" Emil asked as he rushed over to his other half and placed a hand over the other's right shoulder.

Ratatosk was shaken from the fact that he could have his face clawed by the bird monster but he was definitely okay.

"Hmph. Of course I'm fine."

Emil frowned, "I know this isn't my place to say this, but you shouldn't be getting distracted at times like this."

Ratatosk could feel his temper flaring, "What do you mean time like this? The hard part's over, so what's wrong with letting your guard down even a little. I'm telling you, something like this won't happen again. It was a fluke."

Why does he have to get all defensive over stuff like this? Emil asked himself as he looked up to see Marta waving at them.

"Hey you two! Don't worry about the monster's now! Let's hurry to Meltokio! The sun's setting!"

"Coming..."

Emil followed behind the hyperactive girl and was later seen holding hands with her. Ratatosk could only groan in disgust as he followed behind the lovely couple.

* * *

The sun set completely when the trio arrived in Meltokio. Marta's first thoughts were to rush to the end before all the rooms were taken. Tonight, she was going to get somewhere with her Emil and nothing was going to stop her.

Dragging the poor blonde toward the inn was not a difficult task. She didn't seem to care if Ratatosk was behind them or not. Once they were in the inn, she made registrations.

"Two rooms?" The female clerk asked.

"Yes."

"So I assume the two rooms are for the two boys over there and you?"

"No. The shared room is for my darling Emil and me."

Emil felt his jaw drop when he heard what she requested. Ratatosk just blinked allowing the information to sink in.

"W-What?"

Marta smiled at Emil and gently took his hand, "Emil, we'll a couple now. We should be able to sleep in the same room without worry, right?"

Emil could feel his face turning red as a tomato. He didn't have anything to say to this.

"Um...that is...um...I...uh..."

Ratatosk sighed. Emil could be so hopeless sometimes. If he was a man, he would probably say no firmly...or if he was the Decus type of character he would follow through with the request.

 _It would be good to have a room to myself._ Ratatosk thought to himself. _But...I don't...want ...Emil to be alone with her._ Ratatosk shook his head violently. _NO! Not Emil! I can't stand the thought of Marta being alone with that sissy coward!_

"Hey Marta, it doesn't seem he's interested in sharing a room with you." The red eyed Summon Spirit said bluntly.

Those words were enough to bring Marta back from her fantasy world. She eyed daggers at the red eyed Summon Spirit.

"He does want to spend time with me!" Marta insisted. "He's just being shy."

Ratatosk shook his head. "From what I see. He would rather room with me than you."

The words came out wrong. What he meant to say was that Emil would rather be with another male than his girlfriend. Of course, Ratatosk couldn't change what he said and Marta was already infuriated at him.

"What did you say?"

Ratatosk had to come up with something fast or he would lose the verbal battle. He came up with the perfect idea.

"I'm his younger brother right?"

That caught Marta as well as Emil off guard.

"What?"

"I'm Emil's **_younger_** brother. Would it make more sense for Emil to sleep in the same room of a family member instead of his girlfriend."

"You-"

Ratatosk walked over to Emil and smiled. A very creepy smile that made Emil want to retreat back into his shell.

"Besides, I might get lonely if I sleep in the room alone."

Emil turned away from Ratatosk to avoid eye contact. Chances were he was making an irresistible younger brother look that will make you want to do what he said plus falling for his trap. Of course, Emil couldn't look away from Ratatosk for too long and ended up looking at the face of doom.

 _He's so cute!_ Emil thought to himself as he quickly gave into Ratatosk telling Marta that he wasn't ready to sleep in the same room as her plus making him look like a pussy in front of her and the female clerk.

Marta was shocked beyond imagination. Who knew that Ratatosk could say something so...cute that he would be able to change Emil's mind instantly. Normally it would be a threat but why the cute look?

"In that case," The female clerk continued. "the boy's room is to the left. The girl's room is to the right. Please have a wonderful stay."

**Emil paid 100 Gald to stay.**

* * *

Marta couldn't sleep. Not after her operation of sleeping in the same room (and hopefully the same bed) as Emil were foiled by Ratatosk and all because Raine came up with that story that Ratatosk was Emil's brother in Sybak. She didn't expect him to bring that up after he declared that he refused to be the younger brother.

"Is that jerk taunting me?" She asked to herself out loud as she hopped out of her bed and walked over to the window sill. She sighed. "Maybe that's why I still have a crush on him..."

It was true. Ratatosk had a spot in Marta's heart. It wasn't as big as Emil's but there was something there. She couldn't help but have this feeling for him though. At the beginning, she assumed that both of them were the same person thus did she fall in love with both of them. In the end, they were two different people and she was in love with both. However, Emil was the one she truly loved and nothing would change that.

 _...I'll try again the next time we arrive at another inn._ Marta told herself as she headed back to her bed. _I won't let this feeling for that jerk get to me._

* * *

The Summons Spirits couldn't sleep either. Emil wanted to talk to Ratatosk and ask him why he acted the way he did. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to question the red eyed Summon Spirit and the room was filled with awkward silence.

Emil couldn't figure out why the hell he decided to side with his other half instead of Marta. Normally, he would side with anyone but Ratatosk because his decision tends to be the more aggressive decision. This time however, it seemed like his decision would save him from losing something (his virginity) tonight. Still, he couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle together on one subject. Why the hell did he consider Ratatosk cute when he gave that irresistible little brother look?

 _Maybe I am falling into the older brother category._ Emil told himself. _That would explain my maturity and being able to make the decisions and such..._

Emil tried to make up more possibilities but it turned out bull crap in his mind. He turned to Ratatosk and sighed. His other self was staring at him intensely waiting for him to speak.

"Umm...Ratatosk..."

"What is it Emil? If you have something to say, say it!"

Ratatosk's tone of voice was enough for Emil to cower again. He couldn't help but feel frightened, yet he still found himself leaning toward him to continue talking.

"It's just that umm...at the entrance..."

"Yeah? What about it?"

Emil gulped. This question might result in his life ending tonight but he had to get it out of his system, "Could you mind explaining to me why you deliberately change the idea of me sharing a room with Marta?"

Ratatosk cocked an eyebrow, "What? You wanted to get laid tonight?"

Emil nearly fell over anime style with his whole body turning bright pink from embarrassment. He quickly recovered though.

"NO! IT'S NOT THAT!"

"Then what is it then?"

"It's just that...you seemed...out of character and I thought..."

Ratatosk grunted, "Don't finish the sentence."

"What?"

"Don't finish the sentence! I just did that because I knew you were going to disappoint Marta tonight by chickening out!"

A thought came to Emil as those words came out.

"Are you..."

Emil cursed himself for finishing the sentence.

"...jealous?"

That awkward silence that was in the room turned into a deadly silence. Emil found himself scooting away from the red eyed Summon Spirit to his sword in case Ratatosk decided to attack him which the probability was above eighty percent.

The attack never came though. Surprisingly, Emil only moved a centimeter away from his other half and Ratatosk just stared at him like a lost child.

"What?"

Emil felt someone or something in his brain telling him that he was an idiot. Ratatosk didn't seem to know the meaning of what it was like to be jealous...or was he just faking it?

"Umm..what I mean to say was-"

Emil couldn't finish his sentence. He eyed Ratatosk as he saw him walk over to his part of the room and grab his sword. Emil panicked as he proceeded to get his sword to defend himself. He didn't have to though. Ratatosk walked to the door instead.

"Umm...Ratatosk..."

"...If you don't shut up...I might actually kill you..." He murmured in a dark tone.

It sent shivers down Emil's spine but that didn't stop from running toward his other self. He gently placed an arm on the red eyed Summon Spirit's shoulder.

"Ratatosk, what's wrong?" Emil questioned, "You've been acting weird since that party and I need to know what it is."

Ratatosk responded by gripping the tip of his sword harder almost to the point where it drew blood.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just not use to being outside along with you..."

"That's nonsense! Please tell me!"

Emil was so persistent that he forced the red eyed Summon Spirit to look his way. Both were surprised at the green eyed Summon Spirit's aggressiveness. In fact, Ratatosk felt that if he didn't leave now, then something bad might happen.

"There's nothing to tell so just leave me alone!"

With all of his strength, he pushed Emil away from him and ran out the door. Emil could only watch sadly as his other half left the inn.

 _What's wrong with him?_ Emil asked himself.

* * *

Ratatosk made his way out of Meltokio and into the open field. He needed time to think to himself and he couldn't do it with Emil pestering him.

He couldn't figure out why the hell he said those things at the inn. The words just came to him and he just followed through with them. When Emil started questioning him and then pointed out that he was jealous-

 _I wasn't jealous!_ Ratatosk told himself. _I just didn't want both of them to be hurt tonight..._

The blonde closed his eyes. Why couldn't he come up with a good excuse that he liked?

_...What's happening to me?_

Focused on his ideas alone, he refused to acknowledge his surroundings. If he did, then he would know that a dark figure was approaching him from behind. The figure was coming up behind Ratatosk fast that when the Summon Spirit finally noticed, it would already be too late.

When Ratatosk opened his eyes, it was too late for him to react.

"What the-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence. A sucker punch in the back of his head was enough for everything to become hazy. Ratatosk couldn't get a good image of the person who was cowardly enough to attack him unexpectedly but he saw a familiar clothing. It looked to be the clothing that the people from Mizuho wore.

 _What is Sheena thinking?_ He asked himself as he felt his body landing on the grass softly.

The evil laughter could be heard as the Summon Spirit felt himself slipping into the darkness.

_Emil..._

* * *

The sun rose from the horizon. Emil was quick to wake up after the misunderstanding last night. Glancing at the bed that Ratatosk was supposed to sleep in, he was shocked to see that a body wasn't laying there.

 _Maybe he's already up._ Emil told himself. He quickly got up and changed his clothes from the PJs that the inn allowed them to borrow to his normal Knight of Ratatosk clothing.

The blonde quickly made his way down the stairs telling himself that Ratatosk was downstairs waiting for him and Marta to wake up. That thought failed him because the red eyed Summon Spirit wasn't downstairs either.

"Emil, is something the matter?"

Emil turned to see Marta already dressed and ready to go.

"Marta, have you seen Ratatosk?" He asked in an exasperated tone.

Marta shook her head, "No. I thought he was with you."

"No...he isn't. He left the room last night and...I think he didn't return."

Marta was stunned by this predicament. "What? Why would he do that?"

The blonde wouldn't say. In his mind, if he told Marta that Ratatosk was jealous of them being together, it would cause a rift between the three...and Ratatosk was finally starting to open up to them.

"Maybe he did return and went out for a walk."

"You think?"

"Maybe..."

"Oh..."

The two were silent before the blue eyed teen continued.

"Anyway, I think he'll turn up eventually after we visit Daddy."

"You think?"

Marta smiled, "Don't worry Emil. Ratatosk might look like you but he knows how to take care of himself."

That comment made Emil fall into a slump, "So I can' t take care of myself?"

"N-No! I didn't mean it like that!"

Emil could only sigh. Oh how he love being compared to his other self at times like these.

* * *

During the walk to Meltokio Prisoner, Emil couldn't stop thinking about Ratatosk. It wasn't like him to worry about his other self. Ratatosk unlike him could take care of himself during any situation. It was simple as that because he wasn't afraid of fighting to protect the ones he loved. He on the other hand, always hesitated at the sight of danger and for most of the journey thus had Ratatosk do all the fighting. So, if anyone was stupid enough to try to ambush him, they would find that their life had ended the minute they attempted an attack from behind. Still, he worried for his other half.

"Emil..." Marta began. "Did something happen to you two last night?"

"Yes...I mean no!" Emil responded quickly. He can't have his girlfriend worry now when she had more important things to worry about.

"Emil...I wish you would tell me things that are on your mind..." She mumbled sadly. "I don't want what happened at the Ginnungagap to happen again..."

The green eyed Summon Spirit didn't want to be reminded of such events even though it wasn't that long ago.

In a final attempt to close the gate to the demon world, Emil impersonated Ratatosk and tried to get Lloyd and Marta to kill him. He could have succeeded but Marta realized that 'Ratatosk' was Emil. Even though no one was killed by Emil's 'betrayal', it wounded many hearts mainly Lloyd and Marta.

"I'm sorry Marta...there are things I really can't tell you." Emil said firmly.

No matter how hard he tried to convince her that there was nothing to worry about, he was making her worry now.

* * *

At Meltokio Prison, Marta asked if she could see Commander Brute. The male clerk looked at her suspiciously before telling her it was Cell 3. Jail cells one through ten held the most dangerous criminals. It upset the former Vanguard member because even though her father did terrible things, he wasn't dangerous. The only one to blame for her father's change was Richter, but he's taking his punishment as the guardian of the demon door for 1000 years.

"Daddy!" Marta called out as she saw her father behind the bars.

Commander Brute looked up to see his daughter on the other side of the bars in tears. A small smile escaped his lips as he stood up and walked over to her slowly.

"Marta dear, it's good to see that you are well," He replied in his deep voice.

"It's good to see you too, Daddy!"

Commander Brute noticed that Emil was next to her and greeted him as well.

"Commander Brute, how is everything?" Emil asked. Not a good question to ask someone in prison but it was worth a shot.

Commander Brute continued to smile. "The usual. They are planning to take me go to trial soon but they keep suspending the date for unknown reasons."

Both teens sighed in relief.

Marta continued talking to her father. Emil started zoning out and started thinking about Ratatosk's whereabouts again knowing full well he should be listening to what the Lualdi family were saying.

Emil just couldn't figure out why Ratatosk was on his mind. Maybe it was guilt that making him think about his other self. Maybe it was something other than guilt...

"Emil."

Emil snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Marta, "Yes?"

"Daddy wants to have a word with you..."

Marta looked at her father one last time and said her good-bye before leaving the area. Emil was alone with Commander Brute.

"Did you have something you wanted to tell me?" Emil asked.

Commander Brute nodded his head.

"It's about my trial date." He began in a serious tone. "I lied to Marta that they keep moving the date. They chosen a date for me and-"

"How long is it?"

"I'll probably be executed this week."

Emil eye's widened in horror, "What?! How come?"

Commander Brute frowned, "It's because I'm Sylvaranti."

"How does that-"

"Emil, Sylvaranti are persecuted like half-elves. We won't be given a fair trial. Plus, with all the terrible crimes I have committed, murder is the best way to get rid of the biggest threat to Tethe'alla."

Emil shook his violently. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"That's terrible! Even if you did commit terrible crimes with the Vanguard, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be given an unfair trial."

"You are naive Emil," Brute said with a laugh, "the Tethe'allans couldn't care less if a trial if fair or not. They just like throwing their power at us Sylvaranti like we're nothing but a piece of trash."

"I know that, but Regal and everyone else is trying their best to bring Sylvarant and Tethe'alla together!"

"That is a good dream and might be accomplished someday." Commander Brute agreed, "but it won't happen within a week. That is why, on the day of my execution, I want you take good care of my daughter. I don't want her to suffer because of her old man."

Emil frowned. If Commander Brute were to die, Marta would be broken. He had seen how her mother's death affected her decisions, but for her father to die as well?

"Why didn't you tell Marta, your own daughter this? If she finds out at the last minute that you were lying to her, do you think that she'll hate you in the end?"

"Maybe she will. Maybe she won't, but I don't want her to suffer anymore because of me."

Emil didn't have anymore to say to that.

"Please make sure that she's happy when I'm gone. This is my final request from me to you."

Emil looked at Commander Brute straight in the eyes and nodded his head, "I will."

"Thank you."

* * *

The two left Meltokio Prison without saying another word. The whole time, they were holding hands. Both not wanting to let go of the other. This feeling made Emil feel guilty. He was already lying to her about what happened between him and Ratatosk last night and how he was lying about her own father. It was terrible keeping secrets from her.

"Emil..." Marta began, "I'm scared."

Emil turned to her slowly and frowned, "Why?"

She let go of her boyfriend's hand and began to explain, "You see, when Decus took Solum's core away from Daddy, I thought I was really going to lose him. Seeing him all better makes me happy but..." Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, "What happens if they try to take Daddy away from me again?"

"Marta?"

"I couldn't take the pain of losing mother when that tree attacked Palmacosta and killed Mother. The pain hurt so much that I blamed Colette for it. If Daddy were to be killed, who would I have left to turn to?"

Emil could say nothing as Marta broke down. Whatever he said would be consider bullshit. He wasn't going to lie to her a third time and tell her everything was going to be okay. Still...

"You have me Marta," Emil told her truthfully as he pulled her into an embrace, "I'll always be there for you no matter what. I promise."

"Emil..." She returned the embrace, "I know this is selfish of me to ask, but if Daddy were to be put in a situation where he might be killed, could you save him from dying."

That was the question Emil wanted to avoid but he didn't want to see more tears fall from Marta's eyes, so he would have to lie to her again to elate her.

"I promise."

In Marta's ears, the words sounded true to her. These words made Marta to continue loving her boyfriend.

"Thank you."

Emil smiled faintly when he heard her stop sobbing.

At this point, the two were silent. Normally, when they were in a lovey dovey scene, Ratatosk would normally disparage their relationship in a churlish manner and then continue walking making both of them embarrassed. Now, it was obvious that without Ratatosk, the scene wasn't perfect.

"You're worried about Ratatosk, are you?" The former Vanguard member asked.

"...I am..."

Marta smiled, "You are like a big brother worrying about your younger brother's whereabouts."

 _Thats it!_ Emil thought to himself. _I can't stop thinking about him because I might have taken the role of the older brother! Marta is a genius!_

"Do you think we should start searching the city?"

Emil nodded his head, "Yeah. We'll meet back at the entrance in thirty minutes."

"Okay.

Emil took the east side of the city mainly where all the poor people lived and Marta took the west side. Hopefully, they would have a clue where Ratatosk went.

* * *

Ratatosk's world suddenly came too and when it did, it came with consequences. What he first notice was that his head was pounding like he had a hangover or something. The person must have hit him really hard to do that to him.

 _Where am I?_ Was his first question after his vision returned to him.

The answer was obvious though. He looked around the room to see huge capsules, among other scientific things.

Ratatosk tried to stand up but realized he couldn't. He looked toward his ankles to see that they were chained to the table he was laying arm. While his arms were free from any chains, he couldn't go anywhere with his legs chained. By instinct, he reached for his sword only to find that his weapon was gone. He cursed his luck. His second plan involved using his Summon Spirit powers like the one he used during the Lightning Temple. He didn't know what he did that time, but he had an idea how to do it. He closed his eyes and pictures the chains off of him. When he opened his eyes, the chains were still there.

_...I guess that's not how I used that power._

He went to scratch the back of his neck only to find something rough wrapped around his neck. Looking down, he saw it was a collar of some sort.

"What the hell is this?!"

"I see you're finally awake."

Ratatosk quickly turned his head quickly to the voice. His eyes widened slightly.

"Aren't you that researcher?"

By that researcher, he meant the one that walked up to him and Emil when Raine was still in the group. The kind smile that was on the man's face on their first meaning was twisted to a sadistic one.

"I am. Welcome to Sybak's laboratory. I see you're wondering why you're here."

Ratatosk said nothing so the researcher continued.

"Well, after speaking to my fellow coworkers, we decided that we needed to do some experimenting with you."

"What are you-"

"I think it's too suspicious for two people who look like our friend Aster to wonder these parts. We all know that he was killed by Richter two years ago. Us researchers won't question your so called older brother because he bares the scar that Aster had on his chest but you..."

The researcher grinned evilly sending chills down the red eyed Summon Spirit spine.

"You are too suspicious. You bare the name of the Summon Spirit Ratatosk that Aster was studying with that disgusting half-elf. It's not a coincidence that you would show up looking like Aster because you actually met him."

Ratatosk froze. He dare not say anything about what happened two years ago. It really was a mistake to kill Aster out of anger. He thought he wouldn't have deal with the consequences because Emil was willing to atone for them as well as continue his life that Aster could not.

"We suspect that you are a Summon Spirit."

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Ratatosk denied. Unlike Emil, it was hard for him to lie to people because he was bold with his speech.

"Oh really?" the researcher asked, "Then why did that collar glow?"

"What...?"

"Those guys at Meltokio made it when they made artificial Summon Spirits to prevent them from using their powers and turning on their creators. I'm surprised it works on real Summon Spirits as well."

The blonde had no idea how this contraction work nor did he care. He just wanted to get out of this place and meet back with Emil and Marta.

"Who cares? Now if you were a smart human, I suggest that you get these chains off me before I get mad."

The researcher was unfazed by Ratatosk's threats. In fact, he was amused, "Oh? And what are you going to do if I don't remove them?"

"I'll-"

He couldn't kill a human even if he wanted to. So many suffered by one person being killed by his own hands. No matter what, he would not repeat his past mistake no matter how cruel a human could be.

"You have no answer, do you?"

Ratatosk could only glare at him in response.

"If you don't have anything else to say, I say we get started on the experiments."

"As if I would cooperate with you."

The researcher could only laugh hysterically. It was then did Ratatosk see other researchers behind him. All had a twisted face like they were possessed by the devil.

"I don't think you have a choice after all..."

Without warning, the researcher grabbed Ratatosk's arm and forced him back on the table. The Summon Spirit moaned in pain as he looked up to see the researcher hovering over him.

"After all, what are you going to do without your powers..."

Ratatosk planned to attack him for being dangerously close but another male researcher came up behind the first. He walked over to the other side of the table and seized the red eyed Summon Spirits arms above his head preventing him from defending himself.

"Let go you bastards!"

He could hear the other researchers chuckling. He felt anger rising in him. They were amused to see him defenseless?!

"Scream all you want, but help isn't going to come...after all..."

The researcher leaned in and whispered in Ratatosk's ear, "No one is coming to get a child as disgusting as you."

" _Child? How dare he!_ You won't get away with this..."

"Correction, we already have."

The scientists continued to laugh bitterly. Ratatosk could only watch in horror as they prepared to give him hell. For the first time in his life, Ratatosk was the one that was scared of the humans and for the first time, he wished that Emil was there to help him out of this predicament.

_Emil...where are you?_

* * *

Emil and Marta couldn't find Ratatosk anywhere in Meltokio. They must have searched everywhere in the big Tethe'alla city because they were tired when they met each other at the entrance.

"Did you find him?" Emil asked his girlfriend.

"No..."

Emil frowned. He was starting to get annoyed that they couldn't find Ratatosk anywhere. It wasn't very mature of him to run off in the middle of the night and then go missing.

"Maybe...Ratatosk...was kidnapped..." Marta assumed.

Emil shook his head. "That's not possible Marta. He would kill anyone that would even lay a finger on him."

"But Emil, no matter what you think...he has the exact same body structure as you."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

Marta sighed, "You don't have that much muscle Emil and if you don't have muscle, he doesn't have it either, so I don't think he could hold off a big thug off..."

"Then he would use his sword to threaten them."

"..."

Emil groaned. What happens if Marta was right? What if Ratatosk was abducted underneath their noses and they were too tired to care?

"We'll just have to keep looking."

"But Emil, it's obvious that he's not in Meltokio."

"...I know. There were no leads, so we should go to Altamira and ask Regal for assistance."

Marta nodded her head in agreement.

The two headed out of the city. Emil didn't tell Marta that he had one lead though. When he went to the research facility, the scientist there freaked out when he asked them if they seen his other half. If his suspicion of them was correct as well as Marta's assumption, then the one that took Ratatosk from them was probably an enemy of the original group...

_Ratatosk, I won't stop searching until I find you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 6365 words.


	4. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil and Marta head to Altamira hoping to find a clue about Ratatosk's disappearance. They get what they are asked for because Sheena is there and she got a message from one of her colleges that one of the Mizuho assassins is backstabbing them. Once they find out that Ratatosk is in Sybak, the group wastes no time to rescue him, but the cruelty of the researchers might be too much for them especially the two Summon Spirits.

Altamira was still a bright city even after the Vanguard attacked and claimed the city temporary. Tourists were coming back to enjoy the nice sandy beaches of this beautiful city. Marta wanted to get a tan, but that would have to wait. Ratatosk's safety was more important then a new skin color.

"So, where should we look first?" Marta asked.

"We'll go to the Lezerano Company first and meet up with Regal. Then we'll search the city for him."

Marta nodded her head in agreement. It's been a while since she seen Emil so...serious. The last time he had that determine look on his face was when he wanted to know if he was really Aster or not. Now, he's determined to find Ratatosk.

Finding Regal was an easy task because he was so famous. He was in the president's office working on his next company product as well as trying to file paperwork that will have shop keepers stop selling Eau De Seduction. Surprisingly, Raine was helping him when she should have been in Iselia preparing to investigate unexplored ruins.

"Regal, Raine!"

"Emil? And Marta? What are you two doing here?" Regal asked as he looked up from his papers.

"It's a long story, but we need your help!"

"Calm down Emil. Please, tell us what happened."

Marta couldn't help but grin when she saw the two together. The whole love letter idea might have been stupid but she was certain they were together.

* * *

After explaining the whole situation to the two, Regal decided that he would put the new product on hold and help.

"Are you sure he didn't return last night?" Raine questioned again.

"I'm not sure..." Emil admitted, "But I don't think Ratatosk would get up and leave."

"He has nowhere to go..." Marta added sadly.

It was true. Unlike Emil who had a home to return to in Luin, Ratatosk had no relatives he could go to unless you counted the Centurions but after making a deal with Richter, he wouldn't return for a while unless absolutely necessary.

"You have a point, but Emil, why do you think Ratatosk stormed out of the room?"

The questions were getting more annoying and harder to answer for Emil. They could be searching for the red eyed Summon Spirit instead of going over what happened in detail.

"I don't know. I asked him if he was jealous and-"

Emil cut himself off. He didn't want to say what happened last night in front of Marta.

"Emil?"

Raine eyed him suspiciously. The green eyed Summon Spirit decided it was best to avoid eye contact with her.

"So what happened was you asked Ratatosk if he was jealous of something and then he stormed off on you?" Raine asked.

"We don't have time for this Raine!" Emil shouted, "We have to find Ratatosk!"

"Emil!" Marta yelled.

Emil realized that he raised his voice and quickly apologized.

"Don't apologize. I'm asking personal questions," Raine told them, "anyway, do you have any ideas where Ratatosk might be?"

"We don't know. That's why we went to see Regal first. We thought...he might have a lead on Ratatosk..." Marta explained.

"I might not have any lead on Ratatosk," Regal admitted, "but I'm sure Sheena does. I heard from one of my employees that she was here to pick up some tools for Presea."

Emil and Marta looked at each other and nodded their heads like they knew what the other was thinking. Both thought that if Sheena was here, then they would have an easier time to find Ratatosk thanks to her clan.

"Where is she?" Emil asked.

"She should be at the entrance of Altamira." Regal stated. 

Emil wasted no time to leave the building. The sudden rush surprised Marta but she said nothing.

"Emil must be really worried about Ratatosk." Raine said to no one in general.

"Yeah, he is..." Marta muttered and followed after her boyfriend.

Regal and Raine decided that they too would accompany Emil and Marta again.

* * *

Emil made it to Sheena before she had a chance to leave. Sheena was surprised to see the green eyed Summon Spirit worn out from rushing to her.

"Hey Emil! What happened to you? You looked like you just escaped from a very powerful monster."

Emil had to catch his breathe before he could speak with the ninja.

"It's...Ratatosk...have you seen him?"

Sheena gave the blonde a confused look, "No. I thought he was traveling with you and Marta."

"..."

"Did something happened to hi-"

"Emil!"

Marta, Raine and Regal came running behind Emil.

"Emil, don't run off like that. Some of us can't run as fast as you!" Marta complained.

Emil didn't bother apologizing this time. His mind was dead set on finding Ratatosk.

Sheena glanced at Raine and Regal and frowned.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Well, you see..."

* * *

Sheena was surprised to hear this. It was making more sense to her.

"Sheena, do you have any ideas, where Ratatosk might be?" Marta asked her after the full explanation.

"When you put it that way. I do."

Emil perked up, "Please tell us!"

Sheena scratched the back of her head slightly embarrassed before she explained, "Well you see, I just got finished talking to one of my scouts and..." Her face became dark and serious, "Apparently, someone in our village is going around taking some not so noble missions that help out those no good Tethe'allans."

"Not so noble missions?" Raine asked.

"Assassination, kidnapping, stealing, you name it!"

"That's horrible!" Marta shouted.

"I know. I don't have any leads on who this guy might be but when I find him, I'm going to knock some sense into him...but..." Sheena realized she was getting off topic so she continued, "Anyway, one of my scouts said that they saw that ninja kidnapping some kid. My scout assumed it was a half elf and if it was a half elf, he would be taken to Sybak to be forced to work with those geeks. But..."

"What was the description?" Emil questioned hoping he would get some good information on where Ratatosk might be.

"Well, he couldn't get a good look at the kid's face but he knew it was someone with blonde hair...and he was standing in front of Meltokio when he was taken away..."

"Ratatosk!"

The group turned to Emil. He clenched his fist in anger.

"Ratatosk is in Sybak..."

"Emil..."

Emil would have rushed off if Regal didn't place a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Emil, you need to calm down. I know you're worried about Ratatosk, but storming off on us with a temper like this will surely get someone injured."

Emil stared at his shoes and let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, but... _why did I feel like you were going into Ratatosk mode?_ " Sheena told him. Her thoughts on Ratatosk mode were put aside because whenever Emil was angry, Ratatosk would take over. To see Emil this frustrated sent a shiver down her spine.

"We'll head back to Sybak but we must proceed with caution," Raine warned, "if the researchers there have taken Ratatosk, they'll be on the lookout for you too Emil."

"Why?"

"Because you're his 'older brother'."

Regal and Sheena glanced at Raine. She was going to have to explain to them what the hell she was talking about.

* * *

Ratatosk slowly opened his eyes again. His head was still pounding from an overdoes of whatever those bastard scientist gave him.

He didn't bother getting up. He had to look like he was still unconscious or they might start the torture all over again. The torture included giving him some disgusting fluids, stabbing him with needles and hooking him up to contraptions that made his brain go numb.

 _Now I have a reason to hate humans again._ Ratatosk told himself.

Waiting was pointless but that was all he could do. They stripped him of his sword and powers and now he was nothing but a helpless child. If he waited long enough, maybe some idiot human would release him from these shackles.

The red eyed Summon Spirit heard laughter coming from the outside of the lab. It was those three researchers that examined him. If they came in here, he would be screwed.

To his dismay, they came in to check up on their experiment. Ratatosk shut his eyes and hoped they would go away.

"Hey Kotobi, should we ignore what the other guys said and work on phase two of the experiment?" the first researcher asked. He was a tall man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Negative," Kotobi (the slightly shorter man with the bluenette with blue eyes) told him, "it would be a sin to carry out any other project without them, Sosuke."

"Ah come on! What could go wrong with conducting it by ourselves?"

"Our target is unconscious. Further research could lead to a permanent comma or death. If target is awake, he might scream for help. The director and Relina do not know about this. If they hear a scream and find out, we'll all be busted. The worst case scenario is that we all might get fired and arrested for kidnapping."

"But if we tell them that this brat is the Summon Spirt Ratatosk, then they'll surely believe us. Hell, we got data to prove it!"

"I'm with Sosuke," the third man with black hair and green eyes finally said, "the chances of us being caught by the director is below ten percent. We got others watching to see if either of them will try and come down here."

"That's Hiroki for you!" Sosuke cheered.

"However, conducting the phase alone is reckless because if our other coworkers find out, they'll scold us for moving on ahead and endangering our test subject."

"They won't find out!" Sosuke ensured them as he walked over to the blonde Summon Spirit. "We got that guy from Mizuho watching our backs remember?"

Hiroki sighed, "Yes, but the chances of him leaving us is fifty percent."

Sosuke ignored the numbers and continued walking over to Ratatosk. The red eyed Summon Spirit could feel the researcher's present coming closer and started to shiver. Why couldn't help come arrive now?

"Hey, I know you're awake." Sosuke yelled as he prepared to punch the blonde in the face. Before he did though, Ratatosk's opened his eyes and tilted his face back to avoid the blow.

 _Damn!_ Ratatosk cursed to himself as he watched the brown haired researcher smirk in triumph.

"You were probably listening to our whole conversation." He continued ranting as he turned to his fellow coworkers. "What should we do now that he heard us?"

"Silence him," Kotobi responded in a monotone voice, "if one scream is let out, we will be screwed."

 _Like I would scream anyway._ Ratatosk thought to himself. He wouldn't scream even if his life was on the line. His pride was at stake and to scream for help like Emil would brand him as a sissy coward. Despite those thoughts though, he would have done anything to get out of this predicament.

Sosuke smirked as he stared down at the red eyed Summon Spirit, "You're not going to say anything are you?" Ratatosk froze when he felt a hand raise his chin up. "Are you scared?"

So many things Ratatosk wanted to do and so many things he didn't want to do. The thing that he did though was punch the guy in the face.

"Get away from me!"

Sosuke did not suspect any resistance and was sent flying into Hiroki. Hiroki side stepped though to avoid being hit.

"Impressive." Hiroki commented as he helped Sosuke up.

Kotobi giggled in response earning him a glare from the brunette.

"Why you little..."

"Calm yourself Sosuke. Violence will not-"

Sosuke wasn't listening as he rushed toward Ratatosk and gave him a fast falcon punch. The impact almost knocked Ratatosk off the table. The beating didn't stop there. Sosuke then seized the blonde's hair and began beating him to a pulp. His friends ordered him to stop but he refused to listen to them.

_Stop it! Please! It hurts so much..._

"How do you like this you little shit?! How do you like being punched?!"

"Sosuke, stop this now or we'll get caught."

"I don't care! Summon Spirits need to know their place in this world! Just like half-elves!"

Ratatosk couldn't fight back. He was too busy blocking blows to even consider giving him another punch. A second punch though might make things worse though.

In the end, Hiroki walked over to his partner and pulled him away from Ratatosk.

"You fool. Injure our test subject and you'll be kicked out of this experiment!" The black haired man threatened.

The brunette glared at Ratatosk before giving an evil smirk realizing the damage he had done.

"Fine. I'll leave this kid alone. After all, I think he knows where he belongs."

With that said, the three researchers left leaving the blonde alone in the lab.

Ratatosk laid back down on the table and curled himself up into a little ball. It was impossible to make a complete ball though because of the shackles on his leg but he still managed. His heart was still pounding and the punches were starting to take affect on his skin. The bruises were now showing a light purple mark on the places he was hit. It hurt to touch.

_Emil...please come get me...I don't know how much of this I can take..._

* * *

Emil stopped walking when he felt a jolt in his heart. He had this feeling in his chest multiple times today and he knew it wasn't a good thing.

"Emil, is something wrong?" Marta asked her boyfriend.

"No...it's nothing."

"You're worried about Ratatosk are you?"

"..."

"Don't worry, we'll find him," Marta assured him.

Emil smiled faintly. "Thank you, Marta."

The group made it to Sybak and sure enough, the researcher seemed like they were on the look out for something or someone. That someone being Emil.

Emil looked ready to take his sword out and point it at someone similar to what Ratatosk would do, but Regal's words smoothed him.

"Don't worry about a thing Emil. As the President of the Lezerano company, my status will allow us to get the Imperial Research Academy with ease."

"Thank you Regal."

The whole time they were walking to the academy, Regal kept close to Raine making sure that no one would attack her because she was a half-elf.

* * *

Ratatosk thought he would be alone for a few more minutes but that persistent scientist Sosuke re-entered the room alone this time with a perverted grin on his face.

"You thought you've seen the last of me today?" The brunette asked as he walked over to the red eyed Summon Spirit.

Ratatosk refused to respond. He just stayed in the curled ball state and tried his best to ignore him.

"Well, if I want to prevent anyone from taking you away from this place, I will. After all, when that Aster look alike walking around here, we'll have to take precautions."

Aster look alike was enough for Ratatosk to think of Emil. He instantly sat up.

"Emil's here?"

Again, Sosuke tempted him to say something.

"Oh, is that the name of your so called older brother? Well, guess what?" The brunette leaned closer to the blonde and whispered, "I won't let him take you without completing my mission."

Ratatosk felt his whole body shivering and it wasn't because it was cold in the laboratory. "W-What are you..."

The brunette smirked as he seized Ratatosk's arms and wrapped a tight rope around them.

"If you'll a Summon Spirit, what I'll be doing to you won't hurt you." The researcher said in a dark perverted tone.

Ratatosk found it harder to breathe as he found his Knight of Ratatosk clothing being removed slowly. He wanted to scream for help but his damn pride wouldn't let him.

"And this is the part where you're suppose to scream..." the man said with a laugh.

Ratatosk tried his best to hide his fear but he was stepping into unknown territory. He had no idea what to do or get out of it. He could only whimper as he felt a cold hand grope his chest that was snaking it's way under his clothing.

_Emil...please..._

* * *

Emil felt the worse heart pain he had ever had in his life. His heart was pounding fast with no explained reason. He felt like if they didn't find Ratatosk soon...he would...

The group made it to Director Schneider's office with no problem. When they asked him if they have see Emil's younger brother, he shook his head.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He told them. "These researchers are studying about the new monster of that unexplored ruin. There is no time for them to research on Summon Spirits."

The group frowned realizing that they were mislead.

"I'm sorry I can't be much of a help in finding your brother..."

"Don't apologize. It was just a hun-"

Regal was cut off by Emil who looked ready to explode from anger similar to how Ratatosk would.

"You're lying! I can feel Ratatosk's presence here!" he shouted.

Everyone was shocked at Emil's outburst.

"Emil!"

The director seemed confused. "I wouldn't lie about something like this. I know you're mad but..."

Suddenly, there was a sudden earthquake. It came from outside of the office. Emil wasted no time to leave. He wasn't going to be patient anymore. He had to get this feeling in his chest out of him before he took it out on someone.

"Emil wait!"

 _No more waiting._ Emil told himself. _I will find you._

That earthquake was a cause by a huge monster blocking the hallway. The researchers were stunned and started running away from it. The group caught up to Emil and they all realized it was guarding the door to the basement.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Emil cursed as he took his sword out and sliced at the demon. It didn't kill it but it moved out of the way for a chance for the green eyed Summon Spirit to dive through the door and leave.

Marta called out to him but she was ignored. Now, the gigantic demon was mad and it was going to take it out on those who were in front of him. Marta couldn't understand why Emil was acting like this.

"Marta, it's coming!" Sheena warned as she got her cards out ready to fight along with Regal and Raine.

* * *

Ratatosk thought he heard Emil calling to him but he told himself it was only his imagination. He couldn't rely on him or anyone at the moment.

At this point, Sosuke has already undressed him revealing naked flesh and soon straddled the blonde's body with his legs. The brunette only smirked as he harassed his entire body, mapping it out with his hand. Ratatosk had never felt so violated watching the long spider-like fingers slide his pale exposed body. He tried to push him off but with his arms tied behind his back and his legs shackled, he couldn't do anything to defend himself...and this bastard enjoyed it.

"I never knew a Summon Spirt could be so soft..." The brunette mumbled as he rubbed against the red eyed Summon Spirit's legs caressing his thighs and waist, letting out a soft chuckle whenever the blonde struggled in his binds.

Ratatosk shut his eyes shut. If he continued praying, maybe he would stop this madness. The prayers were unheard because when he opened them, he still felt foreign hands touching him in inappropriate places.

He shut his eyes again. He didn't want this. He didn't want his virginity being taken away from some perverted researcher. He wanted one person to claim him and make him feel good but that person was nowhere near to save him. This feeling now was the opposite of good. He thought he would vomit at any moment.

Ratatosk gasped when he felt the researcher seize his manhood, snapping his eyes open to stare as the researcher's hand stroked his length. He grit his teeth, tearing his eyes away from what the other was doing to him. This was disgusting! He didn't want to be touched like this!

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" The researcher mocked, smirking wider when Ratatosk twitched at the sound of his voice. "Don't deny it."

"Sh…Shut up." Ratatosk managed, but gasped when the strokes were stronger. The researcher soon sped up his strokes. The blonde felt like his crotch was on fire, but he bit his bottom lip to keep any noise from escaping which only left a small whimper to retreat.

"Trying to pull the tough guy front won't save you now." The researcher chuckled, slowly moving from on top of Ratatosk. The Summon Spirit took a deep breath, thinking it was over. He froze as the man's face was above his. His eyes caught glance of the researcher's pants were down to his knees.

"You belong to me." The brunette sneered, stroking his length in front of Ratatosk's face.

"No...please stop..." Ratatosk begged, hoping to reach out to maybe a small bit of mercy within that human's disgusting self.

But Sosuke found his pleas amusing and used his free hand to lift Ratatosk's chin up to his length. He slowly went in for the prize and that prize were those small lips. Ratatosk tried to turn his head away, but the researcher pinched his nose shut. The Summon Spirit was in too much panic to breathe properly, so he fell for the trick, opening his mouth to take a breath, but didn't have enough time to do so when Sosuke thrusted his length into his mouth. Ratatosk didn't know what to do. Feeling the shaft fill his entire mouth, he heard the researcher sigh in pleasure as he shifted his hips towards Ratatosk. The blonde struggled to pull the length from his mouth, but the researcher had him firmly pinned down so he was powerless to his assault.

He didn't know how long Sosuke shifted his length down Ratatosk's throat, but he wanted it to end because he felt like he couldn't breathe. His gag reflex was frantically trying to tell him that his body was craving the oxygen that it was being denied. Try as he may, his struggles were in vain. Soon it go to the point where his body was refusing to move since his lungs were lacking air.

Sosuke was in his own little world, not caring if Ratatosk was in pain or in desperate need for oxygen. He tilted his head back in pure bliss, not really bothering to listen around him since there was loud noises coming from outside the room. He shifted his hips faster, loving how Ratatosk struggled beneath him. It got to the point where he shifted so that he was straddling Ratatosk again so he could go deeper down the other's throat.

Ratatosk tried to pull back again, trying to use the last bit of effort that was in him to pull back, but the researcher got a hold of his blonde hair, gripping his hair to the point of yanking it off his scalp, he shut his eyes tightly, trying to hold back tears of pain. It felt as if the shaft was getting thicker in his mouth.

Sosuke was reaching his peak faster than he thought, he carelessly thrusted in and out of the blonde's mouth before letting a sharp moan as he jerked out from Ratatosk's oral cavern.

Something warm was falling down the red eyed Summon Spirits cheeks. He didn't know what it was and he didn't want to know. All he knew was, if everything was taken away from him...he would...

"RATATOSK!"

Life for the red eyed Summon Spirit seem to slow down drastically. Before he knew it, the heavy weight that was on him was forced off and he was no longer at the mercy of the researcher. He tried to glance at his savior but he was too weak to do so. All he knew was that someone was screaming bloody murder and the other was begging for mercy.

The person who saved him though was his other half. Emil used most of his energy to reach the bottom floor at such speed. The instant he saw Ratatosk with another man that was forcing him to do such acts made his heart stop. While he knew it was wrong, what he did next was more atrocious than attempted rape.

Emil charged at the researcher and tackled him off of Ratatosk. Instead of checking on his other self to see if he was okay though, he went straight for the kill. He took his sword out and pointed it at the brunette.

"What did you do to him?" Emil asked in a dark voice.

Sosuke would have said something sarcastic but he couldn't when he saw the malign look on the green eyed Summon Spirit, he couldn't even speak. Emil wasn't waiting for an answer and did something no one would ever think he would do. He took his sword and stabbed the guy in the shoulder causing the brunette to scream. The one stab wasn't enough though. He stabbed him in other places missing the researcher's vital organs on purpose to watch him suffer. The blonde didn't seem to hear the pleading coming from the researcher.

When Emil attempted to give him the finishing blow, a strong hand seized his arm. Emil heard himself screaming at the person but he didn't know what he told him.

"Emil, calm down! If you continue, you might kill him!"

"Emil, come back to your senses! This isn't you!"

Hearing his friends' voices, he suddenly was able to come back to reality. His eyes widened in horror seeing the blood on his hand and the bloody scientist on the floor already unconscious.

"What was I...doing?" Emil asked as he dropped his sword.

The strong hand released his grip and placed it on his shoulder trying to comfort him since words would only make it worse.

"Regal...what did I do to him?" Emil asked again.

The duke didn't answer. If he did, then he would be answering the question many years ago of why he killed his beloved.

Marta was horrified at what her boyfriend did. She knew Ratatosk was violent but she had no idea that Emil could become go berserk. Everyone didn't think he would be this aggressive.

Sheena didn't have time to think about that. She quickly broke the shackles with her card while Raine focused on healing the wounds that were covering the red eyed Summon Spirit.

"We should leave now..." Raine stated in a monotone voice. "It wouldn't look good if we stayed here."

Emil glanced at the half elf and then back at the researcher, "But what about-"

"You did this to him, so I think you should know what happened to him." Raine said harshly.

Marta glared at the teacher but didn't have the courage to stand up to her. Regal and Sheena agreed.

Emil stood up slowly but still glanced at the almost dead body of the researcher. He picked up his sword and slowly made his way to Ratatosk. He was caught up in killing someone that he forgot about what he really came here for.

The girls wouldn't let him near Ratatosk at that moment though and Emil felt ashamed. Regal was the one that ended up lifting Ratatosk's body off of the table. The red eyed Summon Spirt was too weak to walk and was on the verge of unconsciousness so Regal volunteered to carry him out of the place.

"Where are his clothes?" Sheena asked looking around the room trying to find another pair of Emil's clothing.

Marta found his sword outside of the lab and decided to carry it. As for his clothes, they were ripped apart and tossed aside.

"I guess I have no choice. Raine, will you do me the honor?"

"Of course."

She was handed over Ratatosk and she was surprised at how light he was. Regal took off his corporate clothing and put it on Ratatosk.

"It might not be much, but its the least we can do," Regal explained.

Raine and Sheena frowned when they looked at Regal. Underneath the suit was Regal's usual prison clothes.

"You wear that even when you're wearing your suit?!" Sheena questioned.

"Yes. You never know when someone might get cold."

The two couldn't help but sweatdrop. While they were talking though, Emil was allowed to carry Ratatosk.

 _He is light._ Emil thought to himself as Marta opened the door for them. They all quickly rushed out of the lab.

* * *

No resistance came as the group made out with Ratatosk. Professor Schneider had no idea that he was being experimented on in the basement.

"We'll speak about these matters later." Regal told him.

"I am so sorry that I did not know about this." The director apologized.

Emil wouldn't accept his apology. The whole time he was carrying his other half, he was shivering. His body wasn't that cold...

"Ratatosk...I'm sorry..." Emil whispered.

Ratatosk didn't seem to hear him though. Emil smiled sadly as they made their way out of Sybak. The whole time, he was holding him like a teddy bear not ready to hand him over to anyone. Marta walked behind them the whole time with a doleful expression. She had no idea what to make of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 5966 words.


	5. Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ratatosk is rescued but he isolates himself after what happened. Emil can't bring up the courage to apologize to him...even though it wasn't his fault. However, there are more important things than just apologizing. The group is trying to figure out why Emil snapped like that and how an Ex Sphere is related to the change in Ratatosk's personality.

The group took Ratatosk to Altamira because that was considered a safe place for him. Meltokio was no longer safe for him and Mizuho was risky because the one who kidnapped him was from the ninja village. There, Regal assigned the trio a room on the top floor.

On the top floor, Emil gently placed Ratatosk on the bed and allowed him to rest. He then left the room with his girlfriend.

"Emil, what is happening to you?" Marta asked. "The Emil I know would never brutally injure someone."

"I'm sorry...I don't know what happened," Emil answered her truthfully. _All I know is that when I saw that researcher on Ratatosk...I couldn't help myself..._

Marta smiled faintly. "Don't worry Emil. I bet it was your older brother side of you kicking in."

Emil was shocked at her assumption. "What?"

"I may not have any siblings but what I think is this. If the younger brother is in danger, the older brother will always come to the rescue. After all, the older brother is always considered the hero."

"Marta..."

"So I don't really think this event affected your personality since this is probably just a one time thing."

Emil wanted to believe her but he believed this wouldn't be the last time he would lose himself.

"Thank you Marta."

**(Emil earned the title Older Brother. Ratatosk earned the title Younger Brother.)**

* * *

The happy couple waited for Regal, Raine and Sheena to return. They didn't say where they were going but chances were that they were going to explain the situation to Director Schneider, apologize for Emil's rudeness and sudden attack, and alert the people of Mizuho about the traitor in their village.

The two had time to walk around Altamira but Emil couldn't enjoy himself. He still felt guilty for what happened to Ratatosk. Marta was starting to get annoyed but she knew how he was feeling. She just wanted to have some time with her boyfriend with Ratatosk out of the way...but without the red eyed Summon Spirit, it didn't feel right at all for the both of them.

"Hey Emil, you know what we should do when this clears up?"

"Hmph?"

"I think we should go and get some swim wear and go for a swim. The beach looks like a good place to relax."

Emil smiled faintly, "That would be...great."

Marta just sighed as she shooed the idea away.

After an hour of total boredom, Regal and Raine returned.

"So, how did it go?" Marta asked.

Raine gave them an ensured smile, "Everything will be okay. Director Schneider fired those researchers that were experimenting on Ratatosk. The ones that were more involved were taken to Meltokio Prison by the Mizuho ninjas."

The two teens sighed in relief.

"While the researchers are out of the way, the Mizuho traitor seem to have gotten away. Sheena is sending a search squad to find him." Raine finished explaining.

 _That's a relief._ Emil thought to himself.

"Um...what about the monster that we battled?"

"We don't know where it came from," Raine continued, "all we know is that the monster appeared to aid the researchers."

"Its gone now though, so we don't have to worry about another one attacking," Regal added.

"That's good."

"Where is Ratatosk?" Raine questioned.

"He's still in the room," Emil replied, "why did you ask?"

"I need to examine him to see if the researchers did anything that might have provoked that monster..."

"I'll go get him."

Emil left the group to go to the hotel. Marta didn't go with him this time. She felt like she would be meddling if she did.

* * *

 

Emil wasted no time heading to the room. Once he was up their though, he realized he was worrying over nothing.

"Ratatosk, are you awake now?" The green eyed Summon Spirit asked. It was a stupid question when the answer was obvious.

The red eyed Summon Spirit glared at him, "Of course I'm okay you wimp. It's going to take more than that to defeat me."

Emil frowned. Even though he said that with much confidence, Ratatosk wasn't okay.

"...Where did you get those clothes? _And when did you remove that collar that was on you_?"

"Huh?"

Ratatosk looked down to see he was back in the Knight of Ratatosk wear that was torn at the laboratory.

"Oh, I asked Tenebrae to give me a spare. He said that he would make use of clothes lost in the darkness...particularly yours."

Emil groaned. "Why did I have a feeling that Tenebrae would use my old clothes for something like this? And how did Tenebrae get down here? Isn't he supposed to be guarding the gate?"

"Does it matter?"

"No...not really..."

"So, what do you want?"

"Actually, Raine wanted to check up on you to see if those researchers did anything to your body."

Ratatosk's cocky expression fell to a certain extent but he still kept his all mighty voice, "I wouldn't know what they did...I hardly know of those machines..."

"Ratatosk..."

Emil unconsciously walked over to the red eyed Summon Spirits bed to get a closer look at him. Sure enough, his other half was shaking at the mention of being experimented on.

"...I'm not in the mood to see anyone at the moment. I would appreciate it if you left me to think."

"Ratatosk..."

Emil couldn't fulfill Ratatosk's wishes though because Raine entered the room with everyone else nonetheless.

"Everyone..." Emil murmured.

Ratatosk only grunted in disgust at seeing them and lied back down. Raine walked over to the bed and asked Emil to move away from the bed which he was forced to obey.

"It will only take a second Ratatosk, but this will go faster if you sit up." Raine told him in a motherly tone.

Annoyed, the red eyed Summon Spirit sat up. Raine glanced at his skin before turning to Emil and Marta.

"I think it's best if you two leave the room." She ordered.

"What, why?" Marta questioned.

"I'm going to do an examination and I need you guys to leave the room."

Marta let out a low grunt before leaving the room. She wasn't going to see Ratatosk naked even if he had an identical body to her boyfriend.

"Ratatosk, are you going to be okay by yourself?" Emil asked not convinced of leaving his other half alone.

Emil thought the red eyed summon spirit was glaring at him but in fact, he look anxious. His voice didn't hint that though. "What do you accuse me for? A helpless child? I'll be fine."

Emil had no choice but to believe those words. Slowly he walked out of the room. He took one glance at his other half before leaving.

When Raine was sure that the two were out of hearing range, the half elf turned her attention to the blonde.

"All right, you're going to have to remove your shirt before I can start searching."

"W-What?!"

"If they did anything to you, I'll be able to notice. Now please remove your shirt."

Ratatosk shook his head. "I don't trust you."

"What?"

"You're probably just saying that to get a good view. Well, I'm not falling for it."

There was uneasiness in his tone. Raine noticed this and ignored his comments, "Take it off Ratatosk. It's for your own good."

He still refused to cooperate. Annoyed with not getting a helping hand from the victim, the half-elf was forced to grab his arm thinking that he'll pull it back. To her surprise, he didn't pull back. She looked at the summon spirit's expression and saw a look of terror in his eyes. His arm started to tremble slightly and even though he was trying to stop himself from looking so cowardly, he was failing miserably. This emotion however made the half-elf feel an aura that he wasn't giving out before. She loosened her grip on him.

"The examination is done." She said simply as she left the room leaving a frightful summon spirit behind.

* * *

The group was waiting for Raine in the lobby because she wouldn't start the examination unless they were a floor away. Both Emil and Marta bore an extremely worried.

"What's wrong with Ratatosk, Raine?" Marta asked her.

"...It seems...that the damage done to his body was more serious than I imagine," Raine began, "from the looks of it, it seems that they were trying to force something into his skin."

"Like what?"

"An Ex-sphere..."

Regal was silent. The two teens were still confused.

"Isn't an Ex-sphere the thing that turned people into monsters or worse?" Marta asked in worried.

"Yes. Judging from his skin, they were trying to force an Ex-sphere into him. However, Ratatosk seem to have rejected the Ex-sphere possibly because he is a Summon Spirit."

The professor said that but she was still lost in thought. An important piece of the puzzle seem to be missing in her mind. Sure Ratatosk should have rejected the Ex-sphere but the aura surrounding him was all too similar to one.

"What does that mean? Is Ratatosk going to be okay?" Emil asked again.

"He should be okay, but if any side effects are to resurface, please report it to any of us."

"Sheena should be able to contact Lloyd about the possibilities of the Ex-sphere," Regal added, "however, with no signs of an Ex-sphere in the lab, Lloyd will probably not find what he is looking for."

"So he'll probably come over here for nothing..."

Emil technically zoned out when they started talking about Lloyd. Was Ratatosk's life really in danger? He had to find out even if it killed him.

* * *

_"Stay still, damn you!"_

_Struggling. Ratatosk knew he was struggling from the cold hands that were preventing him from fighting back but then again any lab experiment would probably be fighting back. It was bad enough that they were injecting needles that made him drowsy but they were trying to hook something up to his head. Not going to happen in his book._

_Struggling resulted in being punched in the face. The researcher was scolded for attacking the test subject but they soon forgave him in exchange to get to the main part of the research._

_"We should see what would happen if we put an Ex-sphere within him."_

_Ratatosk opened one eye but quickly closed it when he saw something shining too brightly. He heard of what Ex-sphere's were throughout the journey to save the world for a second time. Now he might get to experience what it was like to become possessed by the Ex-sphere._

_"Question is, where do we put it?" One of the researchers asked._

_The researcher that hit the red eyed Summon Spirit gave a perverted grin. "I know just the place."_

_Ratatosk gasped when he felt that researcher grab at his pants and tugged them down revealing his boxers. Those too were pulled down revealing his private area._

_"What do you think you're doing?" Another researcher asked._

_"What does it look like? Planting an Ex-Sphere in him." The perverted researcher answered. "We all know that simply placing it anywhere on his body will result in it bouncing off. So why not try a place where it can't be removed?"_

_"Not a bad idea. I like it."_

_"Let's try it."_

_Ratatosk felt his entire body tremble when he felt his legs being spread apart._

_"I'm going to enjoy this." The perverted researcher said, drool threatening to run down his mouth._

_The blonde gasped when he felt the Ex-Sphere being shoved inside of him. Never would he have thought that forcing it in would be more painful than the battle wounds received during combat. Before he could cry out, a cold hand that wasn't restraining him covered his mouth preventing him from speaking. The perverted laughter was heard throughout the lab as the Ex-sphere soon went deeper inside of him._

_Make them stop! Make them stop! Someone, anyone, help!_

* * *

A light touch on his forehead was enough to wake Ratatosk from his nightmare.

"Lord Ratatosk, are you okay?"

Hearing Tenebrae's voice, Ratatosk slowly turned to the Centurion of Darkness. Still terrified from the dream he replied shyly, "Yes. It was just a bad dream..."

Tenebrae gave him an incredulous look. It was obvious that Ratatosk was lying to him, but he couldn't figure out why. If he asked Lord Emil, then he would find out why the fearless Summon Spirit was trembling over a dream.

"If you say so."

There was a knock on the door. Ratatosk allowed the person in.

"Ratatosk, you awake?" Emil asked in a worried tone.

Ratatosk nodded his head slowly.

"Lord Emil, its been awhile." Tenebrae greeted.

Emil sweatdropped. "Tenebrae, aren't you supposed to be guarding the gate with Richter and the other Centurions?"

"How rude. I simply came down to check on Lord Ratatosk. Being here for a few minutes won't endanger the world."

"I don't need to be watched like a child Tenebrae..." Ratatosk mumbled.

Tenebrae glanced at Ratatosk and then back at Emil, "Lord Emil, I would like to have a word with you."

 _Again?_ Emil asked himself as he walked out of the room again with Tenebrae behind him, "What is it Tenebrae?"

"It is about Lord Ratatosk. Is he...doing okay?"

Emil was confused. Did Tenebrae sound worried?

"Not really." Emil answered. "Someone from Mizuho kidnapped him and took him to Sybak's laboratory where they doing who knows what with him. We managed to get to him on time...but Raine can't figure out the damage that was done."

"I see..." 

"What is it?"

"Its nothing..."

"Tenebrae, really. What is it?"

Tenebrae sighed, "Well you see, the mana flow that is in Lord Ratatosk is completely different from your mana flow."

"Shouldn't we both have different mana flows because we're a different person?" Emil asked.

"No. Lord Ratatosk created you. This means you would both have identical mana flow in your body that other people can't have unless you were the same person. However, when Lord Ratatosk summoned me to get him another pair of a Knight of Ratatosk's clothing, I notice that his mana flow is very off like something is messing it up and making it go out of control."

"Is that bad?"

"I don't know. Lord Ratatosk is well known for keeping the mana flow in his body under control as well as yours. Now that you tell me this, I wouldn't be surprised if the experiments messed his mana flow up."

Emil's heart started to beat rapidly. He feared Tenebrae might tell him something he did not want to know.

"Is Ratatosk's life in danger?"

"I don't know. This never happened to Lord Ratatosk before. All I know is that he might go under some changes if the mana flow in his body continues to go out of control."

The green eyed Summon Spirit clenched his fist.

 _And this is all happening because I ask that stupid question._ Emil told himself.

"Anyway, my time in this world is up. I must return to the Ginnungagap. Please give Lady Marta my regards."

Emil could only nod as Tenebrae disappeared in a black smoke. He stood in front of Ratatosk's door for a few minutes. He was hesitate to go in the room but he had to apologize because all of this was his fault.

He froze when he heard something on the other side of the door. It sounded like someone was crying. Emil shook his head. Ratatosk never cried. In fact, if anyone would cry, it would be himself. He was the crybaby of the two, yet...

The green eyed Summon Spirit knocked on the door again. The sobbing on the other side came to a halt when Emil opened the door. Ratatosk was lying down on the bed again. His head was being covered by the blanket.

"Ratatosk, are you really okay?" Emil asked already knowing the answer.

"I'm fine! Stop asking me!" Ratatosk snapped.

Emil frowned as he glanced at the floor, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry for asking that stupid question. I should have considered your feelings for Marta. I mean...I kind of knew that you had some sort of crush on Marta but...I just..."

"Why would I be mad at a question like that?" Ratatosk questioned him.

"What do you-"

"I ran off because I needed fresh air."

 _More lies._ Emil thought to himself.

"Why would I be jealous of your relationship with Marta?"

"Ratatosk..."

"You know I'm happy for you guys."

"Stop it!"

Ratatosk froze when he heard Emil raise his voice.

"Stop lying. I know you're not okay with our relationship. If you want, I'll break up with Marta so you two could have a chance."

 _You don't get it at all you wimp._  

"So, just tell me and I'll-"

"Now you're the one lying to yourself!"

"Huh?"

"I told you to look after Marta. If you break up with her, she's not going to turn to me for comfort. In her mind, you're the only one for her, so don't let her down."

"Ratatosk..."

"Again, I'm not upset about that question. It will take more than that one stupid question to get me upset..."

Ratatosk's voice soon became a whisper as he thought about what he was really upset about that night.

"Why were you upset then?"

"I don't want to tell you. You wouldn't...I wouldn't...Marta wouldn't..."

Emil was confused as he walked over to the bed.

"Ratatosk, are you-"

He paused when he felt Ratatosk's body shivering again. If he was under the blanket then he shouldn't be cold. Yet...

"Emil...I..."

The green eyed Summon Spirit pulled the blanket off of the red eyed Summon Spirit. He gasped when he saw small tears from his eyes. He probably didn't wipe them away when Emil came in.

"Ratatosk?"

Emil knew for a fact that Ratatosk didn't show fear but gave humans and monsters alike a reason to tremor. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't jump in his arms for comfort because he hated showing weakness. Yet, that's what his other half ended up doing scaring the living hell out of him.

"Ratatosk?"

Ratatosk didn't respond immediately. He tightened his grip on Emil's sleeves and started to shake.

"I remembered why I hated the humans so dearly..." Ratatosk mumbled in a low tone, "They're corrupted souls that will do anything to ruin others."

"Ratatosk...what are you saying?"

"I don't know what exactly they were doing to me...but I feel dirty...because of them. _I was...scared..._ "

Emil didn't hear the last sentence but it didn't matter. The green eyed Summon Spirit knew for a fact that his other half was suffering and returned the embrace to both of their surprise. Emil then began to rock them both slightly hoping that Ratatosk would calm down.

"Its okay Ratatosk. You're safe now. We won't ever have to go back to Sybak. And...I won't let them touch you like that again. I promise you that."

Emil realized that he might not be able to keep this promise just like he couldn't keep Marta's promise with keeping her father alive. He hated lying to them both but when tears fell from their eyes, the only thing he could do was become a charlatan.

Unknown to them both, Ratatosk's body was slowly beginning to change for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 4006 words.


	6. Execution I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tetheallans decide on the execution date of Commander Brute which just happens to be today. When Marta hears this, she decides to do the unbelievable and save her father. Now Emil and the gang have to find a way to stop her from doing the impossible or she'll end up dead.

"Bud, why are we here again?" Zelos asked Lloyd for the third time that morning.

Lloyd and Zelos had no such luck with finding any Ex-spheres in the small villages they visited. However, once they were contacted by one of Sheena's spies, they got information about an Ex-sphere experiment in Sybak. However, the Ex-sphere disappeared from the lab and they were back at square one. Sheena had the information though and told them to wait in front of Meltokio inn. Zelos had been bugging his boyfriend since.

"Sheena told us to meet up here," Lloyd explained calmly, "She has details on this Ex-sphere that mysteriously disappeared from the lab."

"But Miss Jubilees will take forever..."

"Be patient."

Zelos frowned. "Aw, come on Bud. Stop acting like your old man."

Lloyd remained silent. A quiet brunette was the one thing that Zelos did not like about the new Lloyd. Sometimes, he wished that the old immature Lloyd would return to them, but a lot has happened in the past two years since they've been traveling together.

Despite the fact that it was the early morning, there were people (mainly nobles) walking around gossiping. They always had something to talk about. What the three nobles were chatting about though caught Lloyd's attention.

"Did you hear what the Church of Martel is going to do?"

"No. What could they possibly do now?"

"They plan to execute Commander Brute today."

"Really?"

"So, they've finally decided to give that Sylvaranti bastard divine punishment."

"What time is he going to be executed?"

"When the sun is the highest."

"12:00 PM?"

"Yeah. You better go and watch the execution."

"Where is it?"

"In the colosseum. It's a fitting place for that slime."

"What will happen when he's dead?"

"Simple. The Church of Martel will probably go after those filthy Vanguard members disbanded or not. They all deserve to die after what they did to us!"

The three nobles continued to babble on about the execution and death to all Vanguard members.

Lloyd exchanged a worried glance to Zelos.

"What now?" he asked.

Zelos shrugged his shoulders, "This was going to happen eventually Bud. It just happened sooner than expected."

"I know, but what happens if Marta find out."

"Life's tough, but she'll be fine. Marta's spunky personality will make her get over this."

Lloyd nodded his head in agreement. Still, he worried that something bad was going to happen.

* * *

The remainder of yesterday was awkward between Emil and Ratatosk. Emil could have said it was his older brother instincts that kicked in but somehow, he knew Marta wouldn't believe him.

The trio didn't share a room this time, so Emil took the time he had to think about all that's been happening.

 _Ratatosk has changed._ Emil told himself as he laid in bed. _Ever since the party, he's been a different person. I think Marta noticed that too, but I wonder if this change is for the better or for the worse._

Emil considered the second option. While it was great and all for Ratatosk to show emotion, it wasn't all that great if he was going to get out of character because of it.

 _And it's still my fault that I let this happen to him._ Emil thought to himself bitterly.

There was a knock on his door. Judging from the other person's voice, the green eyed summon spirit concluded that it was Raine.

"I'm coming..." Emil said with a yawn as he slowly got out of bed and headed his way toward the door.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but have you seen Marta?"

Emil shook his head. "Isn't she in her room."

Raine frowned in response. "I checked her room but she wasn't there."

"Maybe she went out for a walk?"

"Regal said he hasn't seen her walk out of the hotel at all..."

Emil groaned. "I don't know then."

"Sorry for asking you, but I wanted to know if she was acting weird yesterday."

Emil thought for a moment. There was nothing out of the ordinary after he comforted Ratatosk. He thought it would be best to leave his other half alone after he cried himself to sleep. Marta begged Emil to take him to the carnival since it was a good way to forget the incident. There was a short time when they were separated as Emil went to get the tickets to ride the ferris wheel.

"Now that you think about it, when we went on the ferris wheel, Marta was really quiet," Emil stated. When Marta is quiet, you know something is wrong with her.

"I see. Thank you."

Raine left Emil to do whatever which was presumed to be going back to sleep. Emil didn't do that though. _She's hiding something._ The green eyed Summon Spirit concluded as he waited until the elevator closed. He watched as the elevator took her to the lobby. Emil waited until the elevator came back to his floor so that he could go inside and head to the lobby.

* * *

The minute the elevator reached the lobby, Emil quickly stepped out it to overhear Raine speaking with Regal about something.

"So she can't be found anywhere?" He asked. There was a hint of concern in his tone of voice.

"No." Raine replied. "I asked Emil and there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still it bothers me how the news spread so fast."

"What news?"

Emil made himself known. He didn't like it when his friends kept things from him.

Raine frowned. "Apparently, Commander Brute is going to be executed today."

The blonde was surprised, but not as surprised as he should have demonstrated. Emil knew that Commander Brute was going to be executed this week but he didn't expect it to be today of all days.

"You don't seem that surprised Emil." Regal commented.

"Actually," the green eyed Summon Spirit began, "Commander Brute told me that he was going to be killed this week."

"Where did you get this information?" Raine questioned.

"Yesterday before Marta and I went to search for Ratatosk...wait! Is this why Marta is missing?"

The two adults nodded their head in union.

"Yes," Raine answered. "From what you told me, it seems that Marta found out about her father's execution yesterday and said nothing to you because she didn't want you to know what was going on."

 _In the end, I was the one hiding this important info from her._ Emil thought knowing he couldn't blame Marta for not telling him.

Raine continued to explain the situation to Emil. About how Marta wasn't in her room this morning and their assumption that she left last night to head to Meltokio to see Commander Brute one last time before he's killed.

"But Marta won't allow that." Emil said simply. "She told me that she couldn't bare to lose another family member."

"Which means that she'll..."

"She'll be planning to stop Commander Brute's execution."

Emil turned around to see the new arrival. "Ratatosk?"

"I overheard her speaking to Tenebrae last night," Ratatosk continued. " She said that she won't let the Church of Martel have their way with him."

"Why didn't you stop her?"

Ratatosk shrugged his shoulders. "Her mind was made up."

"Then what are we waiting for?!"

Emil bounded toward the door.

"Wait!" Regal called out causing the green eyed Summon Spirit to stop.

"Regal I can't wait!" Emil shouted. "If Marta tries to stop the execution, she'll end up killed!"

"Calm yourself Emil." Raine told him. "If you rush after her in this state without a plan, you too will end up dead."

Emil frowned realizing that he was making the same mistake again. "Then what are we going to do?"

"We should meet up with Sheena and the others." Regal explained. "They should already be in Meltokio since it seems the news is all over the Sylvarant and Tethe'alla areas."

"Once we're there," Raine continued, "we'll think of a plan to prevent Marta from doing the unthinkable."

That was all they could do. Commander Brute would be dead by 12:00 PM so they had time to regroup and think of a strategy. Emil wondered if he would be able to keep his promise with Marta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 1879 words.


	7. Execution II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang regroups in Tethe'alla and device a plan to prevent Brute's execution. Failure could well result in them getting locked up but Zelos might take the fall for them if they were to fail. Planned accordingly and quickly by Raine (mostly) the group proceeds but a minor screw up on both Sheena and Ratatosk's side could very well lead to the demise of Marta's father.

Marta should have suspected this. The minute Commander Brute was healed they would send him to Meltokio prison for life. That was fine by her because at least her daddy was atoning for his sins and she would be able to see him every now and then after spending time with her friends and cleaning up the mess that her father made.

She denied the idea of her father getting executed. If she even considered it, she would break. She already lost her mother two years ago. Back then she could freely blame the Chosen for those mishaps because there were a lot of people back then who agreed with her. This time however, there was no one to blame. The Church of Martel still had the highest power in the world and it would only be a matter of time before it completely declined.

It wasn't declining fast enough. Marta was going to lose her father if she didn't think of a way to get him out of his prison and away from the Church of Martel officials.

One thing ran through her mind when she told Tenebrae that she was going to save her father. She wouldn't lose her father as well. However, she still got airsick when flying on the Rheaird and lost valuable time having to stop twice. Monsters feared her power though and kept a huge distance from her in fear of being slain despite the fact they had the advantage with her dizziness.

However, when she stopped to rest, she would ask herself how she would rescue her father. Marta realized that she had no plan to deal with The Church of Martel and became more discouraged the closer she got to Meltokio.

 _Emil probably knows where I'm headed now._ Marta thought to herself. She couldn't tell him that her father was going to be executed. The former Vanguard member begged her boyfriend to make sure her father wouldn't die. In her gut, she knew that it was an impossible task. It was selfish of her to pass her burden onto him. In case all hope fails, at least she would be with her father wherever he went after that.

_I'm sorry for acting on my own again Emil, but I have to do this. You'll understand, right?_

* * *

Unfortunately for her, she forgot how rash Emil has recently gotten when she rushed into danger without a plan.

The minute Emil found out that she went to Meltokio he instantly got the group to fly over to the capital of Tethe'alla. Since the original group knew Meltokio from the bottom up, it was easy for them to find her before she did something stupid.

Marta was standing in front of the coliseum. That was where her father would be killed at noon. Instantly she got lectured.

"What were you thinking planning to rush in there by yourself? You'll get yourself killed if you keep being this reckless!"

Emil was truly worried about her. _He really has changed._ Marta told herself as she avoided eye contact with the green eyed Summon Spirit.

"Ratatosk...why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?" Marta questioned the red eyed Summon Spirit. By getting him into the conversation, it would shift attention to someone else and she could duck the question.

Ratatosk shrugged his shoulders. "It's not my fault you're so obvious."

Marta fumed but she was feeling better with the insult.

"But really Marta, what were you planning to do?" Emil asked again.

"...I didn't think ahead...I was going to when I got here but..."

"It might not be a good idea to hang around out here." Sheena warned. "The guards are becoming more restless by the minute and it won't be long until they start questioning people who they might consider to be in the Vanguard."

"If they find out you're part of the Vanguard, you might end up executed along with anyone who sided with Commander Brute." Raine added.

"Which is why we should go back to the Wilder Mansion and regroup." Regal finished. "The officials won't be checking any of the aristocrat areas for any Vanguard members."

Marta nodded her head slowly. "You're right..."

"Marta," Ratatosk began. "Don't sweat it. We'll get him out of there; Even if we have to go up against the stupid church."

The former Vanguard member couldn't help but smile at Ratatosk. Even after what happened to him, Ratatosk still had much confidence radiating out of him. "Thank you."

* * *

The group met up with Lloyd and the others who were all called in from wherever they were in the world. Marta wondered if some of them were doing something important but came to help her out.

 _They are very considerate._ She thought to herself as she couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. "You guys didn't have to stop what you were doing to help me...and my daddy who tried to kill you guys for the cores..."

"Don't worry my darling Marta. The Great Zelos Wilder has all the time in the world to spare."

"That's not a good a thing..." Lloyd muttered to himself.

"We couldn't let you go in alone!" Colette exclaimed. "If one of us goes, we all do because that's what friends are for."

"Yeah, what she said." Genis said.

Emil turned his attention to Raine and Regal. "So what's the plan?"

Raine turned to the green eyed Summon Spirit and frowned. "It won't be an easy task."

The group gathered around the table where Zelos shooed his butler away since he didn't want him involved in this if something were to go terribly wrong. It would be just as bad if anyone in the mansion especially his sister was implicated into the plan.

Zelos had a map of the entire city. The three new additions to the group couldn't help but gawk at how big Meltokio really was.

"We are here." Raine stated as she pointed to the location of the Wilder Mansion. "And this is where Commander Brute is going to be executed. In order to complete this mission and rescue Commander Brute, we must divide into four groups. The first group must reason with the King of Tethe'alla."

"Why is that?" Emil asked.

"If he finds out that we're the ones who broke Commander Brute out of prison, the entire nation will be after us like there was no tomorrow." Sheena explained. "Plus if Zelos is found to be part of this, you can imagine what would happen."

Ratatosk shook his head. "Not at all."

Zelos sighed. "You really don't understand me...do you?"

"Zelos, you're going to be part of this group." Raine said. "The King of Tethe'alla will only reason with you, Regal and Sheena but those two have a more important task at hand."

The ex-Chosen let out another huge sigh. "So I miss out on all the action? Bummer..."

"Wait," Emil started, "if the King finds out that you're trying to help the enemy of the Tetheallans, wouldn't they try to kill you right there?"

There was a long within the group. Zelos chuckled nervously as he was obviously shivering on the inside from the thought of being hung.

"I'll be right there to make sure that won't happen." Lloyd volunteered.

Sheena and Genis gasped.

"Are you sure Lloyd? You aren't exactly the bodyguard type."

Lloyd scowled at his younger companion. "Gee, thanks a lot for your support..."

"Still, I didn't think you would give up time in the main group to protect someone as dumb as him."

"Sheena, that hurts me so much."

Raine continued to go over the plan as Zelos continued to complain. "The second group will work behind the scenes making sure that any backup will not come. This group will also deactivate any traps that the Church of Martel set around the coliseum. Sheena, I leave you and Colette to this job."

Colette smiled brightly. "I'll do my best!"

Sheena was not so sure if the blonde should be put behind the scenes because the chance of her messing up was over fifty percent. _Then again, Colette has good luck wherever she goes..._

"The third group will be within the audience. If a riot were to happen when we rescue Commander Brute then those within the stands will be able to calm them down. Regal, Genis and I will be the ones to watch."

Ratatosk glanced at the female half elf and asked. "Why would you be in the crowd? Half elves will probably be stoned with the Vanguard."

"As you know Ratatosk," Raine began. "Regal is an important member to Tetheallan society. With his figure there, the crowd should settle down to a certain extent. Genis and I are just there for the ride."

Genis groaned. He wouldn't be able to hit a few soldiers with his fireballs.

"That leaves the final group to infiltrate the coliseum without getting detected. Emil, you'll lead the group and take Marta, Ratatosk and Presea with you."

Emil nodded his head as he turned to Marta. "Don't worry Marta. We will save your father. I promise you that."

The former Vanguard felt her cheeks light up as a small smile escaped her lips. "Thanks, Emil."

"I'm in this too…"

The two turned to Ratatosk who glared at their show of public affection.

"Sorry Ratatosk, we're counting on you too."

"Hmph."

Emil wondered if Ratatosk was going to be okay. After yesterday's incident, he wondered if he was mentally repaired since he physically looked okay.

"We still have time to prepare," Lloyd began, "But knowing the Church of Martel, they'll probably pull a fast one and start the execution early once the coliseum is full."

"We don't have time to waste if we want this rescue mission to be a success." Regal exclaimed. "Best of luck to all of you."

The group nodded their head in union. They weren't going to let the Church of Martel get there way again.

* * *

Emil was surprised by how fast Lloyd and the others could work up a plan and instigate it. Lloyd and Zelos left the Wilder Mansion first. Everyone else slowly followed behind them making sure to not attract the attention of the guards. Zelos waved the knights out of the way as they allowed him and Lloyd to access the Tethe'alla Castle. As the guards turned their back to close the door on them, Emil and the group made the haste past them to avoid detections.

Once far away from the guards, the group split up into the three groups. Sheena disappeared to find an easy entrance from the top of the coliseum. Colette spread her angel wings and flew up with her. Sure enough, the Chosen's luck kicked in as no one paid heed to the blonde girl with angel wings. They were all focusing on getting into the coliseum.

Marta thought it was disgusting how the Tetheallans were swarming the entrance like the city was under attack and they needed protection. Still, there were still some members of the Vanguard within that group of people. They would soon be found out though if they were carrying a weapon that would attempt to harm those around them in order to save their former commander.

Regal, Raine and Genis stayed in the crowd of aristocrats while Presea lead Emil, Marta and Ratatosk away from the cluster.

"There are many entrances into the coliseum." Presea exclaimed as she lead them to a back door that was unguarded.

"Are the guards that stupid that they wouldn't block the path where people like can go through?" Ratatosk questioned rather annoyed that there were no guards to take out.

"The guards are too busy dealing with people in the front and inside the coliseum to even consider blocking the obvious routes." Presea justified.

"Where does this lead?" Marta asked.

"Zelos said that this route would lead to a hidden staircase that should take us to one of the stands inside. There we can get a good view on the battlefield and a good shot and preventing the execution from afar."

"Zelos really knows his way around here."

Presea nodded her head as they slowly made their way inside.

* * *

Sheena did not understand why they didn't get detected easily. Sheena might have been a spy but it was broad daylight. Anyone could see a ninja from Mizuho jumping into an entrance from above followed by the Chosen of Regeneration.

 _Colette's luck did kick in after all._ Sheena thought to herself.

"Sheena, what was our job again?" the blonde asked.

"We're supposed to be on the lookout for any suspicious activities from afar." Sheena described. "This means deactivating the traps and knocking out any knights that come this way."

"You mean something suspicious like this?"

"Colette! Don't touch that!"

It was too late. She hit a button and a cage almost fell on top of her. By dumb luck, she accidentally fell backwards preventing her capture.

"Sheesh Colette, don't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be but the problem is if this trap will alert the guards. I highly doubt it but…" A giant sweatdrop appeared behind her as she looked at the ceiling. "I could have sworn we were on the top floor…"

Suddenly, Sheena felt the presence of one of the clan members of Mizuho around. She turned to Colette and frowned. "Colette, don't touch anything. I'll be right back."

"But aren't we supposed to be stay here?"

"It will only take a few minutes. I think it's just a knight and if it is, I'll take him out. I'm counting on you Colette." She gave a wink as she rushed down the stairs. Colette, oblivious to what happened went back to exploring the room. God can only hope she doesn't fall into another one of those obvious traps.

* * *

Sheena stopped in the corridor of the stadium. This part of the stadium was off limits to all except the guards who were on duty. They could watch the battles from afar without having to worry about stepping in to stop someone from getting killed.

"Alright traitor, come out and show yourself. Or do I have to force you out?"

"There is no need for that Sheena."

Sheena gasped. _That voice. It can't be._

A kunai knife emerged from the shadows and almost impaled the assassin. Sheena quickly jumped out of the way to avoid a fatal injury. Out of the darkness appeared a familiar ninja.

"Kuchinawa…"

"It's been a while Sheena."

Sheena glared at the traitorous ninja. Kuchinawa was one of her friends when she was first brought to Mizuho. When she screwed up her pact with Volt, they were no longer friends in his eyes. The traitor ninja was so upset that Sheena killed his parents and later failed to kill the Chosen of Regeneration two years ago that he decided to side with the Pope in getting rid of Sheena and her friends. Sheena and Kuchinawa had one last duel of honor with Corrine's Bell at sake. The Summoner barely won that battle but it was enough for Kuchinawa to retreat and rethink of his betrayal and yet…

"You really haven't learned your lesson did you." She began in a dangerous tone as she got her weapon prepared. "It wasn't enough to put my friend's in danger of the Pope but now you're working with some scum to experiment with Ratatosk?"

"So he was a Summon Spirit? How amusing."

"What?"

"That Summon Spirit was just as weak as the one that you always had around. He didn't even notice my presence until it was too late. Pathetic."

Sheena gritted her teeth. "I dare you to say that again…"

"Which part? About how this Ratatosk can't live up to his reputation as a Summon Spirit, or the one where he is just as weak as that Summon Spirit that was created? I think we battled over that memento when it died. What was its name again?"

Kuchinawa felt a powerful cyclone surrounding his standing position. He hopped out of the cyclone that was about to throw him into the air.

"You've done it…" Sheena mumbled.

The traitor ninja noticed the look the Summoner gave him. It was that same look when they both dueled for their honor. That look meant there would be no mercy.

"Fujibayashi Sheena, I challenge you to a rematch, and this time, I will be victorious."

"I accept your challenge. I won't forgive you for insulting Corrine!"

The two members of Mizuho were ready to duke it out right there. Little did Sheena know that by engaging in unnecessary combat that she would put the whole mission in jeopardy…

* * *

Emil's group was almost at their destination. There were a few guards stationed where their route was but they easily knocked out the soldiers.

"So they put the weak soldiers in the back huh? Talk about pathetic." Ratatosk taunted as the group continued.

"This is…unusual…"

The trio turned to Presea puzzled.

"How so?"

"There shouldn't be any guards here. They're all supposed to be in the front and in the stadium…not in the back."

"Maybe they were thinking that people like us would come in?" Marta asked.

"No. They would have put stronger guards at these posts if that were the case. It's almost like…" She paused before coming up with some conclusion. "We must hurry."

As Presea rushed ahead of them, Emil turned to Marta worried. Was someone expecting them to break in?

Marta followed behind the pink haired girl. Ratatosk gave a confused look to his other self before following behind Marta.

 _Maybe Presea and I are over thinking this._ Emil thought to himself. _But…Lloyd and the others have been fighting longer than all three of us combined, so might be used to these types of situations. Still…_

"Hurry up Emil! They're leaving us behind."

Ratatosk didn't follow Marta as far as Emil thought he would. He waited for the green eyed Summon Spirit to catch up to him.

"Coming…"

* * *

Lloyd rolled his eyes at the situation that Zelos was dragging them in. Wooing the King of Tethe'alla was not going to work like it did two years ago. Back then, Zelos had so much more power because the Church of Martel was still in effect. Now that it was in decline, Zelos' influence over his peers have dropped dramatically compared to Colette who was still known as the Chosen of Regeneration.

"Your Majesty, please re-think this execution. We all know that Commander Brute did some terrible things and almost destroyed Meltokio, but it's still too soon to pass judgment."

Lloyd checked the expression on the king. He seemed firm with his decision to kill the biggest threat of the Royal Family now. Still, something seemed off.

"Now Chosen, I know that one of your friends is directly related to the Vanguard, but this is the will of the people. They don't want Commander Brute to escape from prison and plan his revenge on us."

"But he doesn't anymore. You saw how he was willing to go to prison! He doesn't want to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty anymore!"

Zelos was desperate. Lloyd could do nothing in this situation though. He had no authority to speak to the king. Perhaps if Regal or Sheena were here instead of him, this negotiation would go more smoothly. Maybe they were overconfident with Zelos' ability to persuade the king because it worked each time.

"This may be true, but think of the people. They don't know that he's a changed man that is atoning for his crimes. Only in death will the fighting between the Vanguard and the Church of Martel officially is over. I cannot stand by and continue seeing my people accusing the Sylvaranti as members of the Vanguard. Please understand."

"But there has to be another way around this Your Majesty. If you kill Commander Brute now, that will only fuel that fire between the two races."

"Chosen, my decision is final."

Clenching his fists, the Chosen was forced to admit defeat. Lloyd placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Zelos…"

"Sorry Bud."

The fake smile was plastered on his face again. The eternal swordsmen wielder frowned. They failed to do their part in the mission. They can only hope that Emil could successfully pull Commander Brute out of this mess. Of course, there is no insurance after that.

* * *

Emil's group finally reached their destination. They were in a room where you could see the arena clearly. It was closer to the ground floor with the major difference was that no one could watch from their. Presea easily aligned where they would be jumping out to rescue Commander Brute. All they needed was the signal from Colette and Sheena in order to move out.

Marta was nervous. Emil went over to comfort her, saying encouraging words to her. Ratatosk only turned away from the scene annoyed. He had this feeling that this was going to end badly. He turned to Presea. It was hard to read her emotionless countenance but if he was right, she was thinking that this mission would have deadly consequences for them.

"Hey Marta, I got a question." Ratatosk began.

Marta turned to him, tensed. "What is it?"

"After we rescue Commander Brute, what are you going to do?"

The orange haired teen didn't seem to take in the question until Ratatosk ask her a second time. "I…"

"You know the Tetheallans hate your father with a passion. If you save him, where are you going to hide him?"

Emil frowned at him. "Ratatosk…"

"And think, if Zelos can't persuade that stupid king to pardon Commander Brute, then we're all in trouble. Marta, I'm asking you what we should do after all of this?"

Marta was silent. It was obvious that she hadn't thought that far in advance. Her only concern now was saving her father and think of the consequences later. The red eyed Summon Spirit could only shake his head in annoyance.

"Your hopeless."

"Ratatosk!"

"I was only stating the truth Emil."

"No Emil…he's right. When I heard that daddy was going to be killed, I could only think of saving him from a quick death. If he dies, he can't atone for his sins…but I couldn't even think of a rescue plan. Now that Ratatosk is bringing this up, I realize that I have no idea what to do afterwards."

"Marta…"

"We might as well be rogue criminals for the rest of our lives unless the Chosen does something about it."

"Ratatosk, you know that the Church of Martel is in decline. This might be the last thing they can do before they lose their power completely." Emil explained.

"Not quickly enough…" Marta mumbled.

Presea finally decided to interrupt the trio. "It's starting."

Marta instantly waited near the hole in the coliseum walls. Emil and Ratatosk got a clear view near Presea. They watched as soldier three dragged Commander Brute to the hanging stand in the middle. Marta resisted the urge to jump down and kill the knights.

In the middle of it all, there was a tall man with a take-no-shit look waiting for the Papal Knights to hang the enemy of Tethe'alla. Presea squinted her eyes slightly trying to get a better view of the man. She remembered seeing him around the Church of Martel before but because she was under the influence of an Ex-Sphere, she paid little to no attention to any suspicious faces.

The man began to speak but it was surprisingly hard to hear him over the roar of the audience whether they supported or were against Commander Brute's execution.

"I can't hear him…" Ratatosk stated the obvious.

Emil thought of something else as they put the rope on Commander Brute's neck.

_What are Colette and Sheena doing? They should be attacking at this point!_

Presea noticed this too. They were in a higher section of the coliseum, so it shouldn't be hard to get a clean shot knowing how accurate Colette was with her rings.

The man looked ready to pull the ropes. At this point, it became apparent that something happened on Colette and Sheena's side of the mission. Emil clenched his fists realizing that if they didn't do something now, Commander Brute was going to die.

"This isn't good…" Presea muttered. "Colette and Sheena had failed their mission."

Ratatosk growled as he got ready to take his sword out. "We can't rely on women to do the job now can we Emil?"

The sexist comment was let off the hook because of what happened next.

"DADDY!"

Ratatosk would have face palmed the minute he saw Marta jump down from that position and throw her spinner at the rope. Cue to cutting the rope, their was a huge commotion and the man ordering his knights to seize the girl.

"Stupid girl…" Ratatosk said simply.

"This isn't good…" Presea repeated. "We have failed our part in the mission…"

The red eyed Summon Spirit turned to Emil who had a stunned expression on his face.

"You should have seen this coming Emil." He said with a sigh. "Let's just help Marta and settle this mess."

Emil could only let out a huge sigh. "Why does something like this always happen." He turned to the pink haired girl. "Presea, could you check up on Colette? I'm worried that something happened to her."

"Understood." Presea answered as she ran off in the direction of the stairs.

The green eyed Summon Spirit pulled out his sword and turned to Ratatosk. "Let's go."

Emil jumped down before Ratatosk who just let out another groan. "I should have stayed at the gate…"

* * *

Presea made it to Colette's designated location just in time. As expected, she didn't throw her ring to cut the rope in time was because she was being attacked by a girl that looked to be her age. She had light blue hair and huge blue eyes. The battle seem to be in Colette's favor because the attacker was an archer and archers were not good at close combat unless they carried a crossbow.

However, another figure emerged from the shadows. This figure might have been the traitor ninja that Sheena was talking about but she was certain that ninjas did not use war hammers as their weapons. Colette barely dodged the combined attack from the archer and the black-cloaked figure.

"Colette, I will assist you."

The blonde smiled happily when she saw Presea. "Oh Presea. I'm so glad you're here. These people here started to test my abilities as the Chosen. It's very difficult but I'm getting the hang of it."

The cloak figure growled. "We aren't training you! We're here to assassinate you and your friends!"

The Chosen of Regeneration gasped. "Really? Then, you lied to me?"

The archer frowned. "Haru, I don't think she understands the situation."

"Of course not! All blondes are stupid!"

As the cloaked figure raised her hammer, Presea stood in front of Colette. "If you want to get to her, you're going to have to get through me."

The cloaked figure smirked underneath the hood. "Oh? Interesting, let's see if you can entertain me!"

The double battle started. Presea could only pray that the battle would go well.

"Devastation!"

* * *

The plan wasn't going according to plan. Raine figured that whomever messed up was going to have a serious chat with her later. Emil, Marta and Ratatosk's appearance in the ring shocked everyone. It caused an uproar; instantly Regal did his part and tried to calm the innocent people within the stands down.

"It would be best if you all leave now." He warned them. "Things have taken a turn for the worse."

Most people recognized Regal Bryant as the President of the Lezerano Company, so many of those people got up and left. The more rowdy personas would rather stay and watch the battle that was going on now.

Marta was the one that was helping her father up while Emil and Ratatosk fended off against the soldiers.

"Marta, why did you come?" Her father asked her weakly.

The orange haired girl couldn't help but smile at her father's question. "Didn't I tell you before Daddy? We're in this together? If one of us is going to die, then we'll both die…but I'm not ready to die anytime soon, so I won't let you die either. And I'll…go against the Church of Martel if I have to."

"Marta dear…"

As the two Summon Spirits dealt with the soldiers, Emil couldn't help but notice that Ratatosk was acting abnormal in battle. His sword was missing the soldiers more often than not, but because the red-eyed Summon Spirit was powerful, he killed them in one hit. The other noticeable thing was that he wasn't summoning a monster to fight by their side. It might cause the wrong impression to the audience but it would make things go more smoothly.

"Ratatosk, watch your back!" Emil warned when he noticed a soldier trying to get the other from behind.

Ratatosk didn't even need to look behind him. He simply jumped out of the way and stabbed the soldier who was trying to get him from the rear.

"Tch, these humans think a sneak attack will work?"

Emil sighed as he charged in front of Ratatosk. There were seven more soldiers that were coming their way. The green eyed Summon Spirit noticed that they were slightly stronger then the last pair of lowly bunches.

"Quake Assault!"

Ratatosk rolled his eyes when Emil called out his attack again. It took out all the soldiers though, so it would be fine.

Marta was taking too long to get Commander Brute on his feet. The soldiers kept coming and eventually, Regal, Raine and Genis were pushed back because they were considered normal civilians like the rest of the spectators.

Soldiers were approaching Marta and Brute fast. Annoyed, Marta casted Photon on them. It shook them greatly, which let Emil and Ratatosk finish them off.

"Let's get out of here!" Ratatosk declared.

Emil and Marta nodded their head.

As Emil was about to clear a path for them to barge through, he noticed that Ratatosk suddenly froze.

"Ratatosk, is something the matter?"

He shivered slightly as he glanced around the area like a child lost at an amusement park searching for his or her parents. "There's something here…"

"Huh?"

Ratatosk couldn't identify the location of the distorted mana in time. Someone in the stands was aiming a deadly weapon at Marta. The person's hands shook as she prepared to fire the weapon.

**Rest in peace.**

A loud crackling sound was fired at high speed. When Ratatosk figured out where the sound was coming from, it was too late. Everything moved in slow motion and Marta's scream was the only thing that rang in his ears. A body fell to the ground. Sanguine colored liquid flowed onto the ground.

"DADDY!"

Ratatosk was too stunned to move. Emil however turned toward the stand to see a girl with white hair put into pigtails alone in the stands. She had a huge metal like weapon and was looking at the bottom of the coliseum with an emotionless expression. She turned around to leave through the doors.

"WAIT!" Emil yelled when he realized that she was the one who injured Marta's father.

The girl disappeared in a dark portal that she created herself and disappeared.

There were still more soldiers coming their way. Emil turned to Ratatosk who was still shocked to move.

"God…dammit!" Emil cursed as he single handedly charged into the soldiers.

"Daddy! Don't go! Daddy!" Marta cried out as she desperately tried to use her cure spell to heal the wound that was on her father's neck. She saw that there was a shell of some sort stuck into his neck and it punctured a hole into it as a result. "No…you can't…"

"M...Ma…rta…" Commander Brute stuttered weakly as he coughed blood that was getting stuck in his throat.

"Daddy I'm here! Please, just hang on! I'll heal you!"

"Scien…t...is…t…Red…Ro…s..e…Sha…ra…"

"Daddy stop talking!"

"L..ov..e…Mar…ta…s…or..r…y…"

Marta could feel her father turn as cold as ice. Her eyes widened in horror as she was slowly absorbing what were happening.

"NO! DADDY! DON'T DIE! PLEASE!" She focused all of her power to heal the wound on his neck, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. This never happened before! She tried a resurrection on Commander Brute but his fingers refused to twitch. "Please…don't die…DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Ratatosk, finally managing to snap out of his daze, he turned to his attention to Marta. He quickly went over to her and pulled her away from her father. It was bad move as it only resulted in retaliation and screaming.

"NO! LET ME GO RATATOSK! I GOT TO HELP DADDY!"

"Commander Brute is dead Marta!" Ratatosk snapped. "Can't you tell that there's no way to save him?"

"No…that can't be…daddy can't…"

Emil finished killing all the soldiers when he saw Marta fall to her knees bawling.

"DADDY!" She cried as she began to sob uncontrollably.

Ratatosk stepped back away from her having no idea how to comfort her. He turned to Emil hoping to find some relief in him. Emil saw the look of regret in his eyes. Not being able to do anything for the love of his life.

 _Yet I'm the true failure here._ Emil told himself. _I couldn't keep Marta's promise...dammit…_

Regal, Raine and Genis forced their way into the coliseum. Once they saw the dead body on the ground, they knew their mission was a failure.

* * *

Sheena wasn't doing so well in her rematch against the traitor ninja. He had new attacks that she wasn't aware of and she was almost overwhelmed. Almost.

She summoned Undine to heal her as well as do some serious damage to Kuchinawa. However, he still had plenty of fight left in him and as a result, he was able to knock her to the floor. When he was about to deal the finishing blow, he stopped his arm.

"You are too weak." He taunted as he put his kunai away. "And you are supposed to be Mizuho's Successor…"

"Why you…"

"My work here is done. Your friends have failed their mission. I will be making my leave."

"W-Wait!"

Kuchinawa disappeared in a thick of smoke. The Chief of Mizuho ended up staying where she was cursing her weakness.

* * *

Unlike with Sheena and Emil's team, Colette and Presea were doing very well against the two assassins. That was because the archer kept apologizing whenever she fired an arrow and want to fight. Eventually it got to the point where Presea decided not to go after her and just focus on the one with the war hammer.

"Resolute Infliction!"

The assassin dodged it but Presea managed to knock the hood off of her. She had raven hair and gray eyes. She looked liked a man but her figure spoke otherwise. The women looked to be twenty-six years old.

"Damn, you're good. I guess I should hurry up and get what we were here for."

The female assassin picked up the speed and sped past Presea aiming toward Colette. The axe user tried her best to get to the Chosen of Regeneration, but the assassin already used a knife that was hidden in her pocket to cut the her cheek. Colette ended up falling backgrounds as a result with minor injuries. The assassin however, held onto the knife tightly and turned to the archer.

"We got her blood. Now we can make the cure."

"Alright! Let's split!"

The two assassins disappeared in a portal of darkness. Presea aimed for the area where the busty assassin disappeared to but they were long gone.

"Colette, are you okay?" Presea asked.

The blonde nodded her head. "Of course. That knife didn't seem sharp after all, so no harm done."

A sigh escaped the older girl's lips. "We should check on the others…but…we failed this mission…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 6976 words. Notes! 
> 
> 1\. What are guns doing in this story? I'll explain that later. These new assassins are different. NO! They are not from the real world like the characters from Requiem (Fire Emblem Radiant Future) are. But that's why Brute died really fast. Pay attention to his last words.
> 
> 2\. I know Kuchinawa changed at the end of the first game, but let's just say since he's working with these new villain assassins, something happened and he's evil again.


	8. To Recover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the failed rescue mission, Raine advises Emil to take Marta and Ratatosk to somewhere where the Tetheallans won't find them. Emil ends up taking them to the hot spring to get their mind off of the murder, but it turns out those assassins have other plans…

Emil was waiting in the room he ordered at the hot springs waiting for Marta and Ratatosk to return from their individual baths. The past few days were horrible. Marta would not stop crying over her dead father and Ratatosk wouldn't stop blaming himself for not keeping his promise…even though it was Emil that made the promise that he would prevent Commander Brute from being executed. Ratatosk knew this was going to happen, but it didn't change the fact that his mood dropped considerably upon Marta becoming a wreck. She shut down when she was forced to accept that her father was dead and not coming back.

It got so bad that the group worried for Marta's overall health thinking she might do something stupid again. Raine ended up suggesting to Emil to take them both away from Meltokio and away from the discrimination that was behind the city walls. The green haired Summon Spirit took the offer and forced them both out of their room and onto the Rheairds. The hot spring was far away from the capital and Zelos gave the man in charge a heads up for his guests.

The soldiers have been looking for the trio since, but they didn't bother checking at the hot springs. Even if they were safe, until the group could clear the chaos that happened, it was going to be a while before they recovered from the emotional trauma. Even the warm hot springs wouldn't be able to get their minds off of the hell they had seen.

Emil knew he was being a coward when he refused to speak to Marta about the issue. Trying to the subject made it worse. He had never seen her so distraught in his life. Knowing that what he said wouldn't get through to her, he ended up seeing Ratatosk after the latter tried his best to comfort her and failed miserably.

"Umm…Ratatosk…?"

"What the hell do you want?"

The green eyed Summon Spirit should have expected him to snap at him. Those sad red eyes though showed that he was suffering though…

"Don't…blame yourself for what happened…it was my fault…"

"It was your fault!" Ratatosk snapped as he grabbed Emil by the scarf and pushed him against the wall. "Why the hell did you make a promise you can't keep? Now Marta is in that state and there's no way to snap her out of it!"

"I did my best!" Emil responded rather calmly. That angered his twin even more as it made Ratatosk want to strangle the green eyed Summon Spirit. "Besides, Commander Brute knew he wasn't going to make it out of this alive. If he didn't die a few days ago, he would have been executed by now with little to no fuss. He warned Marta, but…"

"…So you're saying that Marta had this coming?"

"…"

"And you're supposed to be her biggest support…and yet…you couldn't even fulfill the one request she wanted."

"!"

Ratatosk released Emil's scarf as he turned away.

"W-Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to go train. I'm tired of staying cooped in here like I'm under house arrest. I'll probably be back around dinner time."

"Wait!"

Emil tried to reach out to his other half but he was gone in a flash. He exited the room they shared rather quickly like that time. Emil sighed in defeat as he rested on his bed. He felt like the incident a week ago was happening again with Ratatosk growing distant from him and everyone else again. It wasn't his fault that Commander Brute died…it was just bound to happen. Then again, the way he died and his final words did bug him. What was it about a red rose was he trying to say? It made no sense and it was obvious that the person who killed him wanted to keep him quiet. Something told Emil that something big was going to happen and Commander Brute's death was only the beginning.

The blonde couldn't think of anything else though. He was tired from the feelings he had stuck in his chest. He wanted to speak to Tenebrae about it, but chose not to. It's not like he was trying to comfort the other two who needed a friend in deed…

_…I'll just go to sleep…_

* * *

_Going to sleep was a bad idea. Emil woke up in a black darkness that was so black that he couldn't see his hands in front of him. He heard a familiar scream coming from one direction._

_"Marta!" Emil shouted as he rushed in the direction of her voice. He stopped when he saw a man with white hair and beautiful white wings that gave him light in the dark abyss. He had Marta in his possession with a crazed look on his face. He seemed to have talons as they were placed at her throat._

_"Emil!" She cried out as she struggled to break free from the man but failed. His grip on her was too strong._

_The green eyed Summon Spirit took his sword out and pointed it at the man. "Let her go whoever you are!"_

_The white haired man gave a disinterested look at Emil as he looked at the girl. "You dare point your sword at me? You have guts…but then again, if you're part of him, I wouldn't be surprised that you would defy us."_

_"Us?"_

_He chuckled as a response as he held his girlfriend hostage. "Oh, you didn't know there were two of us?"_

_When he said that, another figure emerged from the shadows. He had one gold eye with the other covered behind his bangs. He looked to be the exact opposite of the white haired man. Where he looked angelic and brought light to the darkness, this man wore all dark clothes and dragon wings that concealed him inside the darkness with only his single gold eye that shined just as bright as the man in white. Emil's focus wasn't on his appearance. In his arm, he held Ratatosk hostage. His other half unlike Marta looked like he was just in a battle with him all battered and bloodied. He tried to reach out to Emil and call out to him, but he was too weak to do even that._

_"Ratatosk!"_

_The two men just chuckled, as they stood on opposite sides of each other ready to kill their hostage._

_"It's not that hard to defeat us." The black haired man said with a chuckle as he held Ratatosk close. "All you have to do is impale us with your sword."_

_"Of course, the minute you kill one of us, we'll kill your precious someone." The white haired man finished as he held Marta closer._

_"So, who will you choose?"_

_Emil didn't know what to do. What was with this sadistic decision? He couldn't choose between his beloved and his twin. They were too important to him._

_The two men just chuckled evilly as their laughter started to fill the abyss. Emil looked down and noticed that there were roots growing from underneath him. He jumped back, but when he did, he saw the roots go over to the two men and their hostages. The two men ended up throwing the two into the roots. The roots ended up tangling Marta and Ratatosk together hoisting them up in the air._

_"Marta! Ratatosk!" He called out as he hacked at the roots trying to get to them. With each one he cut though, more kept growing in front of him until it was impossible to advance anymore._

_"Looks like you won't be able to choose after all. Keh heh heh…"_

_As Emil hopelessly fought with the vines, he could hear both of them screaming for help. He didn't know why Ratatosk would scream, but since it was his dream and what happened recently, anything was possible. Emil ended up losing his sword in his frenzy causing him to fall to his knees. Not being able to advance anymore, he ended up letting a skyward scream that ended up waking him up in the real world._

* * *

Emil woke up to an explosion outside. His head shot out of bed and he looked outside to see smoke.

"Lord Emil, get up!" He heard Tenebrae shout as he hovered over him. "Lord Ratatosk and Lady Marta are in danger! They need your help!"

"W-What is happening?" Emil questioned as he searched for his sword.

"Apparently the Tetheallan knights have found you despite the groups attempts to prevent them from finding you. There are many soldiers, but if you all work together, you can hold them off."

"Dammit! Why now?" Emil cursed as he took his sword and rushed out the door. Why did that awful dream had to happen around this time? It was messed up…like it was a prophecy that would happen in the future.

Soldiers were stomping the hot spring area searching in every room for the attackers. Emil didn't hesitate to engage in a fight with them. He called forth Onion to deal damage with him as well as calling fourth the fire sorcerer known as Ashura and the Vorpal Bunny that he nicknamed Kyubey to back him up. With the black bunny kicking the soldiers, Ashura casting powerful fire spells and Onion biting on his opponents, Emil had an easier time mowing through the soldiers. What worried Tenebrae was that Emil was demonstrating the personality that Ratatosk had in the past…it's almost like their personalities switched recently and that was not a good thing.

"Marta! Ratatosk!" He continued to call out through the inn. He didn't understand why they weren't responding to him when this place was small. Maybe they were captured already and they were waiting for him to come out and surrender.

"Lord Emil, please be careful. The aura you felt at the execution is also here." Tenebrae warned the green eyed summon spirit.

It was too late for a warning though. Emil turned around and noticed that his monsters disappeared in a ray of light. They weren't killed or anything. Someone forcibly dismissed them.

"W-Wha?"

"Don't move! We got you surrounded!"

Emil gasped when he saw more soldiers coming his way. They all pointed their spear toward him and it looked like they weren't going to let him off the hook. Emil backed up against the wall hoping that there might be a switch to get away from them. This wasn't Sybak or Meltokio though. This is a simple inn with no trap doors to run away from.

_A little help here Tenebrae?_

**_I'm sorry Lord Emil, but Lord Ratatosk is requesting my assistance._ **

"Dammit…"

Emil was going to fight through these tough looking soldiers if it meant he could get to Marta and Ratatosk. He didn't have to though because he saw some soldiers being struck down by a huge sword. When the soldiers turned around, they were hit in the face by a huge boomerang that hit any soldier that did not duck. When they did duck, they were the only ones that were killed by the huge sword that came down on their neck.

"Gahhh!"

Emil stared down at the people who dared to help him and risk being branded as traitors. It was two guys and for a second, Emil thought they were the ones from his dreams, but he was wrong. One was a human that looked to be in his mid twenties that was rather thin despite wielding a two handed blade with one hand. He had brown hair and a cocky smile plastered on his face. The other looked to be an elf with silver hair and blue eyes that just got his boomerang to come back to him. He didn't look to be a magic user with the way he used his weapon like a pro.

"W-Who are you?" Emil ended up asking as the human turned his direction and smiled.

"Just a pair of mercenaries ready to help you out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: TBC with 2339 words. Notes!
> 
> 1\. So the names of the monsters are references to other animes. Ashura is the named of the genderless god of RG Veda and Kyubey is that little monster from Madoka Magica.


	9. New Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dealing with the knights, it's obvious that unless things settle down, Emil, Marta and Ratatosk will be on the run for a while. The two mercenaries that saved them named Kousaka and Silver offer them a way out in helping them on their journey to collect magical beings called Guardians that have been around for a while but are only now resurfacing.

There was a reason people preferred mercenaries to knights. Mercenaries did whatever they wanted while knights have to obey orders or lose their pride at what they did best. So even though they were probably the more noble of the two, the fact that they continued to do their job in searching for people who attempted to interfere with the assassination was just outright annoying. They even went all the way to the hot springs, the last place one would expect the runaways to hide.

So when two mercenaries come in to beat up on the knights, it made Emil feel better because at the moment these two seem to be on his side.

"Kid, you might want to stand up and fight." The brunette with the big sword warned him. "Otherwise things will take longer."

"R-Right!"

The knights really weren't that hard once Emil had some backup. They were strong in numbers but when you had an elf that can sweep an entire room with his boomerang and the other cutting the knights down to size then nothing was impossible. Not a single knight was able to flee the area because the brunette made sure they were all dead. You didn't want any of them reporting to the capital on this "act of betrayal."

"Man…if this is what I have to put up with the entire way then I want out."

"But Kousaka, I told you that we needed all the help we can get so…"

Emil didn't put his sword away right away in case they decided to turn their weapons against him. They seemed friendly enough that the green eyed Summon Spirit wouldn't have to worry about such a thing.

"Who are you?"

"We're mercenaries." The brunette repeated. "And we were just passing by."

That explanation wasn't convincing. Unless you were going to take a dunk into the hot springs, they must have known something was amiss.

"Actually we saw knights heading in this direction in a large group. We did not know why they were going in such a desolate location so I urged my friend here to follow them. Well it turns out that they were attacking some children so."

"I'm not a kid." Emil said rather quickly as he put his sword away. He needed to find Marta and Ratatosk. "Tenebrae?"

You would think that appearing in front of humans would have freaked the mercenaries out, but even though the dark panther emerged from black smoke, the two mercenaries were just surprised (and the elf was actually in awe seeing Tenebrae).

"Lord Emil, you do not have to worry. Lord Ratatosk has successfully protected Lady Marta."

"Oh…that's good."

"This place is no longer safe though. We should leave as soon as possible."

"Yeah…"

So much for a vacation…

"A-Anyway, thank you both for helping me."

"Don't mention it." The white haired elf responded with a smile. "Although, there is a reason for helping you out."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, we need your help but I want to get a good look at your friends." The brunette added as he was kneeling down on the ground apparently taking the spoils that the knights had on them. He was a mercenary so…

"I have a boat near the docks. We can get away on that." The brunette told the blonde. He wouldn't know that Emil, Marta and Ratatosk already had a way to get out of this place without being detected but it was probably best to just go with them…as long as they weren't evil but since they helped Emil that could not be the case.

Tenebrae glanced at the two and frowned. Something about them was off to say the least but his priority was getting Marta and Ratatosk from where they were. Emil agreed to go on the boat with them so Tenebrae disappeared to warn the two to meet near the dock.

* * *

Ratatosk overexerted himself protecting the healer. Marta wasn't focused during the ambush so he had to make sure to get every last knight so they wouldn't lay a finger on her. Tenebrae came just in time to assist them both and that allowed them to handle the knights. Unlike Emil who wasn't doing his job as a caretaker, Ratatosk went straight to Marta to make sure she wasn't injured. Even if she wasn't scarred, she was still emotionally battered from the previous event concerning her father. The knights were not helping.

"Dammit…what the hell are Lloyd and those idiots doing?" Ratatosk grumbled as he extended hand for the healer. "Marta, we're getting out of here. It's too dangerous."

"…"

"Marta!"

"Yeah…I know…but…"

If Marta kept thinking, she would fall into a greater depression. Not wanting her to remember the incident, Ratatosk ended up grabbing her hand and edging her to get a move on. He wasn't good at handling her nicely despite his good intentions and even if Marta was use to this now, it wasn't a good idea to force her.

"I can walk Ratatosk."

"Then walk. We can't think about anything now until we're safe."

The two wouldn't get far when Tenebrae popped up right in front of them.

"Lord Emil wants you two to go to the harbor."

"We're not escaping from the air?" Ratatosk asked the Centurion.

"No, Lord Emil has some assistance and he thinks its best to escape where no one can see you leave."

Well at least Marta won't get airsick if they traveled via water. The two hurried out of the hot spring with their things and rushed toward the dock where they saw a boat. Emil was already waiting with the two people that assisted him. Questions would be answered when they were in a safer location. The two mercenaries wouldn't even let Marta and Ratatosk question if everything was okay because not all the soldiers were killed and a few of them were getting up to finish the job.

The elf grumbled as he took his boomerang and threw it at the knights hitting them all in the head. The boomerang came back to hit one more that managed to avoid the first blow before the weapon came back to its owner. At this point no one witnessed a boat leaving with some spoilers.

* * *

"So you're the famous Ratatosk!"

The silver haired elf did not waste any time invading the red eyed Summon Spirit's space. What went from shaking his hand ended up him grabbing his scarf and then attempting to examine his ahoge. Ratatosk reacted badly and yelled at the elf to get off of him.

"The books said that the Summon Spirit took the form of a squirrel but to see you in a human form is amazing! A new discovery!"

Ratatosk glared daggers at the elf threatening to push him off the boat (that the brunette was steering at this point so he couldn't stop his friend even if he wanted to). Tenebrae only chuckled at the comment of his real form. Luckily Emil and Marta's attention wasn't to that small detail about their friend.

"How do you know his name?" Emil asked first. "We didn't tell you…and you told me that you were just following the soldiers. But if that was the case, then why…"

"I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Silver Arilith and my partner over there is Kousaka Ikeda. We're both mercenaries." He hummed. "We did know about you only because of eye witnesses."

"Eye witnesses?" The healer asked.

"You see Kousaka and I travel the world and go to many ruins. When we get near them, we always ask the locals and two people were always brought up…Emil and Marta. Many of the people talk about how you helped them out in a time of need and are grateful for your contributions."

Normally any words of praise would go to the Chosen's group for their deed of reuniting the two worlds. In contrast Emil and Marta just happened to be in a location with said members to help these people out so the gratitude shouldn't go to them.

"Since it's just me and Kousaka, I was hoping we could ask a few more people to help us out on our little journey."

"He doesn't think I can protect us both." Kousaka said with a snark causing the elf to grumble.

"No, it's not that. Our mission requires more than two people to participate. I mean, you heard that Guardian. He said he wouldn't even talk to us unless we have a group of five people."

"Why five?"

"Probably a wild goose chase because that stupid shit thinks that no one will say yes to our proposal." Kousaka grumbled in the background. "But if you kids are on board with us then we can teach that thing a lesson."

"Hey we have names!" Ratatosk growled.

Ratatosk didn't need to say anything else, as Emil and Marta were quick to introduce themselves. The red eyed Summon Spirit was annoyed that he wouldn't be able to do the same thing. This elf already knew his name and what he was and he wanted to get that information out of him, but Emil and Marta were more interested in what this Guardian Silver spoke about.

"Oh the Guardians? They're just like Summon Spirits." Silver said with a hum. "They have been around for a long time even before Aselia came together. No one knows the exact date, but they've been lurking around in the same locations as the Summon Spirits and compared to the Summon Spirits, they can hide their presence so well that no one will be able to disturb them."

Ratatosk and Tenebrae found this description fishy. That's basically saying three powerful deities resided within the temples: the Summon Spirits, the Centurions and now the Guardians. This is also under the assumption that there are eight Guardians based on those elements as well…

"Compared to Summon Spirits, no one knows anything about the Guardians and there hasn't been absolute proof that Guardians existed. However, I think the proof doesn't exist because the Guardians take a human form and constantly leave the area of their element."

"How do we know that you're not making this up?" Ratatosk ended up interrupting him. "This story sounds like a load of bull."

"Hey, I've been around for a while and I have done my research. I don't want to give my information to Sybak without absolute proof. The humans there have a tendency to steal the credit from elves and half-elves alike so unless I can have physical evidence with my research then I can't proof I did it."

"Silver just wants to prove he's the very best like no one ever was." The brunette joked. "Of course, the Guardians do exist. We met two of them in Asgard. Those brats told us they wouldn't even consider coming along with us unless we found their babysitter of earth. And then he tells us that he's not coming out unless we are in a group of five. Honestly, these Guardians are proving to be such a hassle and it's a wonder why no one has found them yet. I swear I'm going to make a pact with all eight of them just to get them to shut up."

Silver growled at the first part about being prideful but continued. "The Guardians make a pact with the user who meets their requirements in the same vain as Summon Spirits. They attach themselves to one person though and allow the Summoner to gain enormous power. When all eight Guardians are bound to one person, something good is supposed to happen."

"And that is?" Marta was interested in the story now since it sounded like a fairy tale more than an actual truth.

"That I don't know. From my research, no one has been able to gather all the Guardians up in one place. Kousaka said he would be my guinea pig and take them all in. I trust that his soul won't shatter or he won't be burned alive because in comparison to the Summon Spirits, the Guardians seem like deities that want nothing to do with others. This is why they hide themselves in isolated areas, and from the Guardians we have spoken of, they have allowed me to confirm they are not hostile."

"You probably met the least hostile of them all…" The red eyed Summon Spirit grumbled.

"I told him that we met pranksters and a coward. I don't know what the other six are but if they'll be like that, this journey won't take too long."

"That's why when we were traveling on the journey, we were looking for others who would help us, but at the same time, we don't want anyone backstabbing us and taking the information for themselves." The white haired elf stated. "We heard good things about a trio that have been going around helping people and how they took many missions from the Katz Guild."

Emil and Marta wanted to forget some of those missions. Yes helping people was nice and all but it made depressed at the end of most of said missions when Marta would nag him. Ratatosk wasn't pleased either since "trio" meant him…despite never participating in said events except when to fight originally.

 _Those Katz really wanted to drag my reputation through the mud._ Ratatosk thought to himself. That was it! They weren't going to help them again!

"And with the recent events and the knights going to a desolate location with no explanation, we just happen to find you three."

As if Marta wanted to be reminded of her father's death…

"I'll say it for Silver. Help us out on getting the eight Guardians! We'll probably give you a huge sum of money for helping us and give you some credit for the discovery."

Kousaka was blunt about the issue and the way he said it made it seem like the trio would end up working for free. Ratatosk wanted to refuse because he didn't trust them. Emil felt like there were more important things to do then run back to all the temples to look for these Guardians, but Marta…

"Of course we'll help!"

"Huh?!"

"No way."

Marta glared as she told Silver to give the three a moment as she dragged the two to the opposite end of the boat.

"Marta what gives?" Emil questioned. "We're kind of on the run here…"

"And I don't trust them!" Ratatosk added as he glared at the elf. He didn't get a good vibe from either of them…

"I know, but if the Guardians are real then that means we can make history!"

Marta didn't seem like the type of person to care for history.

"Plus maybe these are the ruins that Raine was talking about originally. If we discover them first before her, then think of how she'll react!"

Yeah…this didn't sound like Marta at all even if seeing Raine annoyed that she didn't find undiscovered areas gathered a humorous mental image. Ratatosk did not seem to catch the desperation in Marta's tone despite the fact he was the one nagging Emil about how he needed to care for the healer's feelings. In contrast, Emil saw the pleading look in her eyes for the both of them to say yes.

Emil sighed in defeat as he gave in. "Okay…"

"W-What? Emil, come on! This is something we do not need and you just said-"

"Yay! I love you Emil!" Marta cooed as she embraced her boyfriend before sticking her tongue out at the look alike. "You're so nice unlike Ratatosk."

"Hey! This is for our safety! We can't trust anyone now!"

Marta let go of Emil as she rushed over to Silver to confirm their answer. The green eyed Summon Spirit sulked especially when Tenebrae appeared behind the two to mock them.

"I guess even when you guys are on wanted posted, you'll still have time to go on an adventure."

"Tenebrae…this is for Marta's sake." Emil finally said. "If it can get her mind off of what happened to Brute then…"

Immediately Ratatosk's expression softened. He never thought about it that way, but…

"I still don't trust them."

"You don't have to. If they try to stab us in the back, I give you permission to slice them in the front."

The green eyed Summon Spirit was trying to allow his twin to feel better but it was an obviously failed attempt. Rolling his eye, Ratatosk stomped off toward Marta where he would be met with Silver attempting to examine him again and Marta cawing about how cute it was. If she became fast friends with this weird elf then things were not going to end well.

"Lord Emil…"

"…It's just not Marta I'm worried about Tenebrae. This journey is for Ratatosk too. Even if we're on the run, I think it's important for them to not think of the consequences and live in fear. If it means going to prove a myth then so be it. Marta shouldn't have to think about her father's death…nor does Ratatosk need to think of his kidnapping and…"

Emil refused to finish that sentence because just thinking about it made his blood boil. Tenebrae understood his lord's decision to agree with Marta and sat down in midair.

"If that is what you wish, I will respect your decision Lord Emil. However I am with Lord Ratatosk. These two cannot be trusted. I cannot explain it but there is this randomized mana that is flowing through both of them."

"Is it like Ratatosk?"

"Perhaps. I will continue to observe them from the shadows. Call me if you need assistances."

"I will."

Tenebrae disappeared in a puff of smoke. Emil looked ahead and only sighed again. A new journey was beginning now just to bide some time until Lloyd's group could settle things in the capital.

What Emil and the group did not realize was that this wasn't going to be an easygoing journey especially when darkness was looming around the corner that Emil failed to detect at the hot springs…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Done with 4270 words. 
> 
> Originally the plan was for the entire group to travel together on this quest but I changed it to where the main group doesn't join right away. It's easier to write fewer people then a group of thirteen…probably the main reason why I got stuck writing in the first place. I think like in Dawn of the New World, the group comes and goes depending on the situation but only a few characters will remain constant like in Dawn of the New World where the party leaves Emil and Marta constantly. Notes…
> 
> 1\. Kousaka Ikeda and Silver Arilith (which is elven for "Silver child") are OCs only for the Tales universe. Kousaka was originally a traveling swordsman until he as hired by Regal and the Lezerano Company. Because of the events of Dawn of the New World, he has taken a break and is with his friend Silver to help him with his goal to find the eight Guardians. Kousaka thinks that the Guardian thing is just a load of bologna and he's going along for his friend's sake. Kousaka is blunt and sarcastic but he's a very nice guy. Silver is a scientist that left the elves village to prove his worth because he doesn't like how elves isolate themselves from the humans, but at the same time, he hates how humans are everything those elves describes them as. Kousaka is an exception so while he's a nice guy on the surface, he makes sure everyone else is at arms length. Wanting to make himself known, he wants to prove the Guardians exist and wants Kousaka to be the one to make a pact with them (because Silver thinks he's not worthy of such power in contrast to his friend. Of course the Kid Icarus/Disgaea universe proves that Guardians will make pacts with anyone that past their test (or they make pacts to anger their Goddess). Silver is more on the serious side but he gets a little childish when it comes to ruins and histories…wait until he meets Raine…
> 
> 2\. Guardians are not the ones you see in my old stories (we're talking 2007 old). These Guardians are what is described in the Kid Icarus/Disgaea one shots but in contrast to those two, Guardians will play a role in Tales of Symphonia universe. But that should already give you a hint about what they are and how they work. A recap is that Guardians are souls of humans/animals/deities that have met their demise and the Goddess of Love Ceres took "pity" on them to revive them. How they are revived is based on their element. The example I gave in Bewailing is the fire Guardian Scorch was burned alive and the Intelligent Guardian Shimi committing suicide. All of their deaths are ironic and its more spiteful than pity in retrospect.
> 
> In this story, there are eight Guardians brought up and known by Silver when there is obviously more than eight. It's easy to assume there are eight if the Guardians are apparent rip-offs of the Summon Spirits and Centurions. This is how Ratatosk views them already because he has not seen them in person and if this was true then why haven't he noticed them when they were searching for the cores? Of course the Guardians are on a whole different level of magical potential so they are very capable of hiding themselves amongst their own kind or can live in isolation. The only difference is in the Tales universe, they can act differently then how they act in Kid Icarus/Disgaea universe because the Guardians aren't dealing with angels, demons or Gods. The majority of the Tales cast is human therefore their attitude is different.
> 
> How many Guardians in this story though is a secret but it's not eight like Silver stated. What will they do when all eight are gathered? That's my secret.
> 
> 3\. Aselia is the name of the two worlds combined in Tales of Phantasia. I read that Symphonia was the name before Aselia but I wanted a more official name and I just used an established name.


End file.
